


New Tamaran

by Saberlord_Oboeshoes



Series: New Tamaran [1]
Category: DC Elseworlds, Kingdom Come (Comics), Supergirl (Comics), Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Wonder Girl (Comics)
Genre: Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Dick Grayson is Robin, Evil Genius Lex, F/M, Girl Power, Minor Beast Boy/Raven, Multi, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Past Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 08:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 45
Words: 71,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12908295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saberlord_Oboeshoes/pseuds/Saberlord_Oboeshoes
Summary: The Titans have entered adulthood, and none is more excited about it than Starfire.  With crime at an all-time low in Jump City and across the world, she can look forward to a promising modeling career and a happy marriage to her beloved Robin.But all that comes crashing when Starfire learns that her homeworld of Tamaran has been destroyed, and the survivors are left searching for a home.  Starfire takes up her royal responsibility as Queen of her people, arranges for a Tamaranean colony to be set up on the moon, and plans to use her marriage to Robin to unite both worlds in peace.  While President Steve Trevor leads the world in supporting their new neighbors, others like Lex Luthor are none too happy.Meanwhile, Darkseid has sent his head Red Lantern to Earth in search of the Anti-Life Equation.  After uniting the Titans' remaining rogues under the co-leadership of the mysterious Gamesmaster, it is determined that the source for the dreaded equation is none other than Raven, and thus they seek out the one person crazy enough to get inside her head - Scarecrow.While doing Darkseid's bidding, the Red Lantern also seeks to destroy everything else Starfire loves.





	1. Prologue

==============PROLOGUE===================

Gotham City was not quite as bleak than Dr. Light had expected.

It had long been dubbed the role model of nightmares, the source of the worst crazies in the world, the only city with a population decline.  But ever since the passing of Bruce Wayne and the departure of the Justice League, that had started to change.

Mr. Wayne had left his company to Mr. Edward Nygma, formerly known as The Riddler, but now reformed, using his mind to help the company create more jobs in the city.  The Wayne Estate was left to Miss Selina Kyle, who used her new wealth to clean up the more undesirable parts of the city with an all-female crime-fighting group known as the Birds of Prey.  Furthermore, due to an incident involving his daughter, Commissioner Gordon was now pushing for Arkham Asylum inmates to be executed.  As a result, Gotham’s crime rate was finally on a steady decrease.  Not as much as the rest of the world, but it was still worth bragging about.

But there were some crazies that still lurked in the shadows, and Dr. Light knocked on an alley door to meet one of the worst.

"Come in", said a deep voice from inside. Dr. Light obeyed, and found a room dimly lit by jack-o'-lanterns. Against one side wall were books on psychology, phobias, and gothic literature. Sitting in the middle of the room was a velvet leather coach. Next to it was a slender figure in a chair, strongly hidden by the shadows.

"Please, take a seat. Make yourself comfortable. Oh, and close the door."

Dr. Light obeyed, and laid down on the couch with his hands folded together. The spooky psychiatrist clicked his pen and started looking over his notes.

"So, Arthur Light, you decided to take up a life of crime in Jump City. The place has ranked in the top 10 lists for both safest cities and best places to raise a family in America for the past six years. So, what exactly from a place that boring could possibly frighten anyone enough to come here?"

Dr. Light tried to answer, but just the thought of the response began to make him quiver.

"It's … her."

The other doctor softly hums and began jotting down on his notepad. "So, please talk about … 'her', and don't be afraid to start at the beginning."

"Well, I moved to Jump City for those reasons you said. It seemed like an easy place to get some extra cash and be taken seriously for once. But then a band of costumed heroes came to town, the Teen Titans, but they were just kids, so they seemed like easy pickings at first."

"Wait," interrupted the doctor. "Did you say the Teen Titans?"

"Yes, surely you've at least heard of them? They rescued Tokyo from an ink monster just last year."

"Sorry, I don't watch the news, nor have I heard of these Titans."

But his predecessor had. A while back, a mysterious man calling himself Slade, whose presence was disturbing even by Gotham City standards, had commissioned for one of his masks to be doused with a toxin that could be released via radio transmission. In return, Slade had promised a wealth of juicy data on the psychological upsetting of metahumans.

His predecessor provided the toxin, and sent the transmission at the appointed time, but he never got to evaluate the data.  The government finally discovered that he began his work developing chemical weapons that were used to commit war crimes in Khandaq and was given a life sentence in Belle Reeve.

So, like a noble apprentice, this new Scarecrow took on his mentor’s identity, and sought to be a better villain.  He had tried cutting himself a check by offering his improved toxins to a powerful villain immune to governmental power, but the seemingly-transformed Lex Luthor went back on his word, and he had been in hiding ever since. He desperately needed to make a name for himself, and these Titans had peeked his interest.

"Anyways, please continue."

"Well, you see, there was one, just a measly teenage girl, and I just ticked her off a little, and then … she showed me what she really was."

"And what was she really?"

Dr. Light started shaking so hard he was starting to make the couch vibrate.

"So … so dark. The darkness from her came into me, and I saw ... a hell spawn, pure evil, enough despair to drive one mad … a living nightmare."

Now fully interested, the psychiatrist took off his fedora and leaned forward. One would have clearly seen the burlap sack covering his face, colored in such a way to appear as a grayish skull with eye-holes, as well as the noose around his neck and the dark green plaid shirt tied onto his body, not to mention the straw popping out of his costume around his neck and wrists.

"I'm going to need you to close your eyes, take in some slow breaths and relax."

Dr. Light did so, and just when he could feel his heartbeat slowing down, he felt a needle plunge into veins on his left wrist. As the orange liquid entered his bloodstream, he started shaking and sweating even more profusely.

"Go on," asked the Scarecrow. "Tell me more about this nightmare … about these Titans."


	2. All Grown Up

Cyborg took the T-Plane off autopilot as he returned his father, Dr. Silas Stone, to his apartment outside Cyberwear Headquarters. The double-doctorate scientist thanked his son for rescuing him from being held hostage in Dakota City before wishing him on his way.

With an estimated 10 minutes until arrival, Cyborg called Beast Boy to inform the team; he, in turn, replied that Titans Tower was undergoing some serious renovations. As soon as the call ended, Cyborg's jaw dropped as he saw that the entire southeast end of the Tower had collapsed in on itself, destroying his bedroom, Robin's bedroom, Beast Boy's bedroom, and the gym.

Cyborg parked the T-Plane, rushed into the living room, and shouted, "What in the name of My Grandma's Fridge happened here?"

"Can you keep it down?" asked Raven politely, not looking up from the chess board in front of her. "I'm contemplating my next move."

"Ah, finally got you thinking now, have I?" joked Beast Boy, sitting across from her. "This is the longest I've ever seen you take. Could it be that I have finally managed to outwit you with my brilliant three-pronged attack of pawn, bishop and…"

Raven made her move. "Captured your queen".

Beast Boy remained motionless with shocked eyes and an open smile for a few seconds before fidgeting his hands over his pieces while stammering.

"Well, it's great to see the two of you oddly enjoying something together," interrupted Cyborg, "but would someone mind telling me who exactly it was that BLEW UP HALF OUR LIVING SPACE?! You have no idea how badly I want to unleash some major butt-whoop right now, so who should get it? The Hive Five? Control Freak? SLADE?!"

"Rob and Star", answered BB.

Cyborg responded with an annoyed and confused "huh?".

"Well, it was Robin's birthday while you were gone, and turning 18, he said that he was too old for cake and presents and junk," explained Raven.

"But then Starfire said, 'Well, that's too bad, Robin, because I have something very special that I want to give you'", continued Beast Boy, making his voice high-pitched and lustful when quoting Starfire.

"And, of course," finished Raven, "it happened to be the one thing you can give and never get back."

Immediately, Cyborg figured it out, and he slowly stood up straight as his lips made a puffed out "o" shape and his speaker system automatically played marching band music. Beast Boy turned his arm into a tentacle and flicked Cyborg's mute switch while masking his next move.

After 3 more moves of silence, Cyborg spoke again in desperation. Then he flicked his mute switch and repeated, "Wait, so they got crushed?"

"No, just Robin; took him down to the Purple Room to heal him," answered Raven.

"And I kept them entertained with my acoustic surfer ballads!" gloated BB.

"Of course, you did," replied the sarcastic one.

"So, hold on, where are they now?" asked Cyborg.

"They're in their own pocket-dimension that I made for them," said Raven.

"Oh, OK … what!?"

"Yeah", replied Beast Boy, "Herald came buy and gave Raven a crash-course in dimension surfing. He was pretty dang impressed too; said she learned in a day what a typical angel would learn in years."

Raven looked up and blushed. "Wait, angel? That's not what he…"

"Well, yeah, Gabriel called you the d-word and you scared him out, but you're good, and the good version of a demon is an angel, so that'd make you an angel, right?"

The two looked at each other awkwardly. Cyborg decided that he'd had enough awkwardness and headed over to the fridge to get what he had been thinking of the whole time since he'd left – a soothing bottle of Limited Edition Kiwi-Superfruit Electrolyte Power-Punch Energy-Overload Cream Soda!

He opened the fridge and found that all eight packs were gone.

He was about to turn around and demand an explanation when a swirling bright indigo vortex opened in the middle of the room. Out came Robin, still wearing his mask over his eyes, but also wearing a red bathrobe and slippers with a yellow belt, and he was finishing up the last can of Cyborg's prized energy drink. Exiting behind him came Starfire, wearing only a pink bathrobe and combing her hair.

The dimensional rift closed, and Robin noticed his disappointed friend standing in front of him.

"Cyborg! Sorry about your drinks, I promise I'll buy you more."

"Hey, hey, don't worry dude! I don't mind, since I can see it all went to a worthy cause."

After Cyborg abruptly shut down another track of marching bound music, Starfire approached him with her familiar, friendly, girlish smile.

"Tell us, Cyborg, was your mission in Dakota City a success, and did you make many new friends there?"

Cyborg continued to abruptly shut down random whistling, howling, and bragging noises and he stammered through his answer.

"Yes, I can say that the past week went well for me. How was yours?"

Starfire happily grabbed her lover, flew him to the ceiling, and proclaimed her answer to all who would hear.

"I have truly had the best, happiest week anyone could ever have, celebrating love with my precious grimgorf! And we will have much more celebration until we have an army of bountiful offspring!"

"Yeah, well, I love you too, Star, but I don't think that last one's going to happen."

Starfire's look of pure happiness then quickly turned into one of shock and confusion.

"Well, now that everyone's all hear, you should probably know that ... I ran into Slade."

Once the other Titans had quickly scrambled onto the couch, Cyborg uploaded the data onto their giant TV screen.

"I received a distress call last week from my father, and traced the signal to Dakota City. After teaming up with local heroes Static and Gear, we were able to locate where our nemesis had been hiding."

"And what was he up to?" asked Robin in his serious, leader-like tone.

"Well, that's the problem - we have no idea. All the other scientists were with Cadmus, so it had something to do with alien DNA. But as he made his escape, Slade triggered devices he'd attached to all the scientists' heads, wiping their memories. He also erased all computer data and blew up the place."

"I see," Robin said as he stood up. "Well, Slade's finally back, and that means we have to be on full alert. Titans, dismissed!"

Raven and Beast Boy went back to their chess game, and Cyborg remembered that he'd forgotten to ask what had happened to all his stuff.

"It's all fine, dude", answered BB. "We moved it all into the garage for now. You practically live their anyway."

The Cyborg remembered that he had crashed into something when he landed the T-Plane, and rushed off to look at the damages.

Starfire flew into her room to change, but was distracted by a hungry Silkie. While feeding her pet, her new cell phone went off, and she quickly rushed to answer.

"Hello, may I speak to Miss Kory Anders?"

"This is Kory Anders. I am most certainly, truthfully Kory Anders."

"Congratulations, you've got the job."

Starfire gasped. "I … I did?"

"Yes. Your first shooting will be in Studio B at 10:15. Don't be late."

"Oh, I won't. Thank you, ma'am!"

Starfire hung up and hugged Silkie with joy.

"A job, Silkie! I got a job! This is just the start! Soon, we will all be normal!"

Soon after winning their chess game, Raven's cell phone also went off. She checked it to see that she had gotten a text saying that she had won two tickets to Bird or Devil, a female-led alternative metal band.

"Bird or Devil? I LOVE Bird or Devil!" exclaimed Beast Boy, pulling out albums and posters from hammerspace while revealing what a huge fan he was. Raven was a bit shocked at this, but nonetheless felt a friendly urge to give the second ticket (that she had planned on selling online) to Beast Boy.

Five minutes later, they had completed their plans for that evening. Then then started to leave through opposite sides of the room, and then stopped in confusion.

"Did I just set up a date with Raven?" Beast Boy asked himself.

"Did I just set up a date with Beast Boy" Raven asked herself.

They both turned and rushed to meet in the center of the living room, and spoke in unison.

"So, wait, are we really doing this?"

"Just to be clear, I don't like you like that!"

"Hey, stop … well, this is weird … um …"

Then they both rushed out of the living room, while Robin stood facing Cyborg in his room.

"Rob, between the two of us, you should know that one of the kidnapped scientists was ... someone you're very well-acquainted with."


	3. New Job, New Friend, New Titan

 

 

Starfire flew as quickly as she could to the Aurora Photo Studio branch in downtown Jump City, carefully making sure that she chose the best flight path to avoid being seen. She landed in a nearby alleyway and opened her deluxe Italian purse, her last Christmas gift from Robin.

She undressed herself and took out several hologram rings like the ones made by Cyborg when he had infiltrated H.I.V.E. Only two were meant to go on fingers, while the others had to be strapped onto her arms, legs, waist, ankles, wrists, neck, and forehead. She put them all on and pounded her fists together much like he had, and immediately her appearance went from an orange-skinned alien beauty to a perfectly tanned tall athletic human woman of Scots-Irish descent (as shown by her deep green eyes and blazing red hair). She then emptied the rest of her purse and put on a set of "normal" human clothes – a pair of tight jeans and a bright yellowish top – before applying the perfect amount of makeup while looking into a compact mirror.

While putting her Tamaranean clothes into her purse, she heard a mugging occurring at the edge of the alley. Starfire quickly finished packing and fired a starbolt at the thief, knocking the gun out of his hand. His intended victim started shouting and pointing at him, and soon was held down by onlookers while she called the police. None of them noticed Starfire strolling casually passed them.

Starfire came to a stop in front of the main door and looked up at the sign gracing the building:

AURORA PHOTO STUDIO  
MODELING – WEDDINGS – MUSIC VIDEOS  
A subsidiary of Wayne Entertainment

"Today's the day – the first day of being normal!" she said to herself, then took in a deep breath and walked inside full of confidence.

Starfire walked up to the front desk and showed an ID identifying her as Kory Anders. She was then given a brief meeting with studio director Carl Woods, an older black man who was friendly yet no-nonsense, giving her a pep talk that was full of encouragement but also made it clear than he did tolerate screw-ups of any kind. Starfire did her best to pay attention, but still not having the best grasp on the English language, her mind began drifting elsewhere, but managed to return right as Carl was finishing up his speech.

Carl personally escorted Starfire to the photo room she would be working. He opened the door and a startled young photographer turned to greet them. She was a young black-haired, blue-eyed woman of Mediterranean descent about Robin's age and about his height, with large square glasses, five-point star earrings, and a hairstyle that looked like it had been rushed after sleeping in. She wore loose jeans and an untucked professional-style shirt, but beneath that she clearly had a muscular feminine build. Carl was about to introduce them, but the photographer quickly walked up and held out her hand.

"Hi there! I'm Donna, Donna Troy".

"I'm, uh, Kory Anders" replied Starfire, shaking her hand.

The two of them worked together on fashion shots for three months, after which Starfire had become of the top new models on the scene. She shared her success with her fellow Titans, who congratulated her on being the first of them to have pulled off a secret identity. As thanks for her lover's support, Starfire managed to secretly a new hero costume for Robin – one that went finally grant him his own identity

It was also around this time that Donna asked a rather shocking question during lunch break.

"So, 'Kory', does that translate to 'star or 'fire'?"

Starfire quickly spat out her drink and then quickly tried to regain her confidence.

"I, um, do not know what you mean! There is nothing strange about my normal Earth name!"

Without saying a word, Donna opened her laptop, which already had Starfire's human headshot. In about ten seconds, Donna photo-shopped the image to have orange skin, green scleroses, and purple alien 'dots' over her eyes.

In a state of panic, Starfire grabbed Donna by the mouth and dragged her under the table.

"What do you want from me? Do you wish to know the location of the treasure of X'halbargle or wish to scrape my stomach to make mutant zombie lizard-penguins? Or have you taken my friends hostage…"

Donna broke free and quietly proclaimed, "Calm down! I'm with you; I'm a good guy! Look, see?"

Then Donna opened her purse, and the light glowing from it showed a shocked Starfire realizing the secret of her co-worker. "You mean, you're…"

"Yup", Donna proudly replied while moving her glasses off her face. "I'm Wonder Girl!"

Then Donna closed her purse and spoke seriously.

"Look, you've done a great job keeping your identity secret so far, but it's very easy to slip up, so be careful. My advice, do a Clark Kent and get some shades."

Donna made sure that nobody was looking to garner them suspicious, and they both quickly finished their lunches.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" asked Donna. "My roommate and I were planning pizza tonight, and wanted to know if you'd like to join us. She really wants to meet you."

/

Red X stood at the side entrance to Intergang's hideout: one of the abandoned factory buildings that Slade used to hide out in. He had been waiting for the final members to arrive. They were already an hour late, and he was seriously considering leaving his post.

"If you're bored, you're still welcome to come visit my room," came a menacing female voice from behind."

"Well, once again, no thanks. I'm not taking any risks with someone who would most likely be a mantis in bed."

"Well, I could be. I could also be a sweet little kitten. It all depends on how good you are."

"For the last time, not interested."

"Suit yourself." When there was finally a knock on the door.

Cheshire began walking back to her room when there was finally a knock on the door. Red X gave an annoyed scruff before opening the door, and then jumped back in total shock as he saw the corpse of Mumbo, with a twisted look of terror on his face, staring right at him.

The corpse fell fall on its face, revealing Scarecrow standing directly behind it. "Sorry for being late," he apologized while entering the building, giving no notice to the man he had just killed. "There are way too many abandoned factories in this town."

"You … you killed him," Red X stated in shock.

"Yes, well, he was very annoying, and I thought your HQ would be able to dispose of the body."

"But he was supposed to be your partner!"

"Yes, and he did a fine job of crafting me a new magic scythe and making me skilled enough to properly face a metahuman. But I got everything I needed from him, and just to make it clear, he was annoying."

"So, you just intend on killing your teammates once they become inconvenient?"

"No, because I do not plan on joining any team. I am only here because your promised me information on the Titans; information that I can use to take my fear toxin up to the next level. And if anyone here decides to make themselves an inconvenience to me in any way..."

Scarecrow then whipped out a syringe and pointed it straight at Red X's neck.

"I will not hesitate to frighten you into submission. Now, where will I be boarding?"

Scarecrow then was started to feel a blade up against his own neck. Out of the corner of hs eye, he noticed the dagger leading up to Cheshire's outstretched arm.

"You will be staying with me," she ordered, turned on by his unrepentant sadism. "And every night, you will give my body the satisfaction it craves; otherwise I will slice your head in two."

Scarecrow put away his syringe and turned to face his new lover.

"You must be Cheshire. Don't worry; I promise to make all your wildest nightmares come true."

As the young assassin led the mad scientist to their room, Red X went in the opposite direction and sighed.

"First Dr. Light, and now Mumbo. Gamesmaster is not gonna like this."


	4. Girls Night Out

"Wonder Girl, this is a very strange place to get pizza," Starfire spoke into her communicator as she stood outside an abandoned Galaxy Communications building.

"Yeah, well, my roommate is in a bit of trouble right now, so it will have to come later," replied Wonder Girl. "Now, go ahead and break in through the front. I'll come in the back and meet you in the middle."

Starfire obeyed and easily blasted all the enemy guards she encountered into unconsciousness. Once she came to the middle of the floor, however, she was greeted by Cindrblock, Plasmus, and Overdrive. While she successfully dodged each of their attacks, her starbolts had the usual ineffective effect. She tried tricking them into attacking each other, but that didn't work out either.

Then, suddenly Cinderblock was lassoed from behind and yanked backwards. At the back of the room, Donna Troy aka Wonder Girl, wound up and sucker punched the concrete behemoth right in the face, sending him forward. As Donna allowed herself to be pulled forward with the speed of a race car, she pulled out an Amazonian staff and sliced through Overdrive as she flung passed him.

The sword absorbed all of Overdrive's electricity into its blade and into Donna, leaving only the microchip behind. Glowing with lightning, she blasted all the electricity onto Paslmus, reducing him to a few puddles of non-sentient slime, surrounded by his napping human persona. Then she stabbed the staff into the ground, and when Cinderblock had stretched the lasso out entirely, she swung him upwards and slammed him into the ground, crushing the microchip and the puddles, then she jumped onto Cinderblock and stabbed him through the head, turning off his orange eyes.

"So, these are the guys who gave your team a hard time?" she asked while standing triumphantly and yanking the sword out of Cinderblock's head.

"Did ... did you kill them?" asked a dumbfounded Starfire.

"Of course. I'm a soldier; it's what I do. And besides, they're just monsters; it's not like they were people!"

"Well, here comes so people now."

The two ladies were then surrounded by an army of heavily armed security guards.

"Don't worry; they're armor is strong enough to withstand a point-blank blast from a tomahawk missile. Oh, and by the way, you weren't by any chance holding back before, were you?"

"I have too. We can never fight at our full strength so we do not risk killing any innocents. Also, our employer can only pay so much for damages."

"Ah, that does make sense. But today, you won't have to worry about killing anyone, and my dad will be paying for any damages."

"Wait, you mean..."

"Yup!"

Both ladies than had no problem fighting the army at their full power, knocking out every adversary and reducing all surroundings to piles of ash.

Eventually, they came to the main room in the basement of the building. There they found Mechanic, once the personal handyman to the robot Atlas, hard at work on some kind of generator.

He immediately put his hands up. "Don't hurt me! I'm only doing this because he threatened my family!"

Suddenly, the last two guards appeared and pointed a laser gun at either side of his head.

"Please don't be giving away the plot, it's very annoying!" From behind the generator walked the long-lost Professor Chang, ever confident as ever. "Well, if it isn't Princess Amazon and Princess Miniskirt! You shall do well for my first two prisoners!"

"Is someone here?" said a female voice from above.

"It's me," replied Wonder Girl.

"OK then, mission accomplished."

The generator began powering down, and Professor Chang ran to a nearby computer console in desperation, only to be met with a punch to the face.

"That's for threatening a man's family. Now, since I've deleted all files in existence relating to the Atlas force fields, would you mind telling me who this Gamesmaster is?"

"Actually, I would mind!"

Professor Chang pushed a button underneath his coat, setting off a self-destruct countdown.

"Great, I'm so not tired of this cliche" commented Wonder Girl and she knocked out the last two guards. "Star, the guards should be safe in their suits. Take Mechanic back to his home; I'll get Plasmus, my roommate and Chang, and meet you back at my place."

/

After dropping off Mechanic and wishing him a happy family life, Starfire flew to Wonder Girl's apartment and was promptly introduced to her roommate - a young redhead who would've made a fine gymnast had she not been confined to a wheelchair.

She held out her hand for an introduction. "The name's Oracle, but you can call me Babs."

Starfire then stopped when she noticed that Oracle had the swollen belly of a woman halfway through her pregnancy. Starfire gasped for joy as pink valentine hearts popped out of her eyes, and gave Oracle a massive bear hug that made her choke in pain.

"Sweet Babs, you are blessed to become a holy K'Norfka, for a precious bumgorf is seeded inside you!"

"Thanks, but can you please let go of me?"

Starfire did so and begin a series of rapid-fire questions with regards to what would be the baby's name, what it would eat, if it would have an interest in Gorga pipes, what type of weaponry the father was planning to teach, and it if could adapt a tolerance to acid rain.

"Easy there, slow down, I don't know any of that."

"But Robin is one who would make sure that his child shall take up for protection in this cruel world."

"Uh, Robin isn't the father."

"But do you not love each other with the passion of a thousand rose fields?"

"Uh, Starfire, what exactly has Robin told you about the two of us?"

"Oh, very much! He went into many fast detail after screaming your name while we were making hard love some time ago!"

Both Wonder Girl and Oracle stared at her in vapid confusion.

"And that didn't make you angry at all?"

"Why would it? I am more than blessed to have grimgorf with enough love for a second grimgorf!"

"I take it 'grimgorf' means boyfriend or girlfriend, right? Well, Robin and I aren't that any more."

"But did you not kiss on the lips and melt your burning bodies to make sweet hard love?"

"Um ... yes, but that doesn't make his lovers. I mean, Robin and Wondie also did that, but they're not..."

Starfire eyes popped even wider', and then turned to see a nervous Wonder Girl fidgeting with her lasso.

"Hey, first times don't mean anything! My parents had teamed up with Bruce, and Rob and I were sent into a cave to hunt a giant snake, and my mother told me that I could never be an Amazon until I had bonded sexually with my partner, so Robin and I stopped the hunt to screw..."

Wonder Girl couldn't complete her story as she was now in pain due to a massive bear hug.

"Praise X'Hal! My grimgorf Robin has enough love to share with three grimgorfs!"

/

The pizza finally came, and all three ladies were sitting down to calmly explain their differing customs of love and sex.

"OK, now look. For the Amazons, sex is a way of forming great emotional bonds with your partner, but it does not necessarily mean being in love or 'grimgorfs'. My mother had sex with most of the other Amazons before she did so with my father, and they quickly fell in love. And while I bonded with Robin, I never loved him, but we have remained close friends ever since. We've kept in touch through e-mail and phone calls throughout high school, and he helped me pick out this apartment. He also convinced me to go after my 'grimgorf', Roy Harper, and now he is my boyfriend. Do you understand, Star?"

"I think so."

"Good," said Oracle. "Well, contrary to the ancient wisdom of the Amazons, my father taught me that sex is something you should only do with the one person in the world who means the world to you. I thought it was Robin, and we were deeply in love. But it turns out, as smart as we both are, we were idiots when it came to being in love, so we aren't grimgorfs any more, and I haven't had one since."

"And then there's me and Supergirl," revealed Wonder Girl.

"You and Supergirl are grimgorfs?" asked an astonished Starfire.

"No, we were just partners who had sex for fun. Replacing the entire Justice League while they're off aiding the Green Lanterns against Darkseid is no easy task, and sex provides the perfect stress relief."

"So, you shared the joys in each others bodies, but no love?"

"Nope; just friends having fun. And we had the fun with everyone that you know call the Honorary Titans - who were age appropriate, of course. But now that I've retired early, I think I might finally get to do it for true love."

"I think I see," replied Starfire confused, "but friend Oracle, who is the father of your baby if you have no grimgorf?"

"I'd ... rather not say," replied the other redhead.  "Now, your turn, Star."

"Well, on Tamaran, what you call 'sex' we consider a declaration of love,we believe very much in the power of love, and we say that there should be no limits on how many you can love!"

Starfire began using a diagram of pizza topping to illustrate her point.

"One Tamranean can have two to four lovers, and each of them may have the same amount yet include different Tamaraneans, and so on until all of Tamaran is covered in a web of grimgorf love!"

"Even the king and queen?" asked Wonder Girl.

"Yes. Granted, they may only have children with each other so that Tamaran may be ruled by the finest warriors, yet they are still included in the web of love,connecting them to both the elites and the commoners."

"So, how are other children raised then?"

"Well, each young Tamaranean is raised by a mother and father, the latter of which is selected by the mother from her grimforfs."

"OK, I got it," stated Oracle. "So, you understand now that Robin is yours and yours alone for ... grimgorf love, right?"

"Yes, but I still don't understand. If you came here not to be with Robin, then why com here?"

"Ah, yes," explained Oracle. "You see, last summer I finished an internship at LexCorp."

"LexCorp? Run by that awful, evil slimeball Lex Luthor?"

"The very same. I was actually working undercover for your employer, Star. I quickly worked my way up to becoming the company's chief data manger, accessing ever project file to check on his latest criminal activity. But, to my shock, he's done an awfully good job of cleaning up his act. To make it worse, Luthor actually offered to heal my legs if I continued to work for him. But I turned him down, and now I'm here holding the same position at Cyberwear."

/

The dinner wrapped up nicely, and Starfire bid farewell to her new friends while leaving a special kiss on Oracle's belly for her baby. She arrived back at Titans Tower at around midnight, and was surprised to find that the usually brightly lit living room was instead dark. However, thanks to her alien vision, she found a trail of arrows meant only for her to see leading up to something tall and covered with a blanket.

Starfire pulled off the blanket to find Robin underneath, and then a light shown from the box he was standing atop of. He was no longer wearing his mask, had combed back his hair, and was dressed in business casual clothes.

"How do I look?" he asked. "This is what I'll be wearing for the inductee banquet for incoming junior executives at Cyberwear Biotech!"

Starfire replied with a confused glance.

"I got a job, Star, with my old secret identity! I can be normal again now, and we can be normal, and I'd like to celebrate by taking you to the banquet with me. I've already called Aurora, and they said it's fine if you accept."

"Well, this is a great special surprise, grimgorf Robin! I shall be happy to attend your child boss feast as your girlfriend!"

"Oh, actually, this wasn't the surprise. The surprise is that I don't want you to attend as my girlfriend."

Robin then got down on one knee, pulled out a ring box from his suit, and opened it in the palm of his hand.


	5. It's Official

"Well, looks like Starfire said yes," said Beast Boy, casually eating his organic cereal.

"I know this isn't normal, but I actually feel like jumping around for no reason," replied Raven, finishing up her herbal tea.

"So, how far do you think they got before they remembered about that private dimension you made?"

Raven put down her cup and surveyed the damage in the living room. It was only to that area, and the worst she could see were starbolt-torn couch cushions and cracks in the windows. Clearly, the couple was becoming much better at their love making.

"Well, I can see Robin's tie but not his pants, so I'm guessing second base."

Beast Boy did a spit take, followed by a slight chuckle. "I'm sorry, but I'm just surprised that you know what that is!"

"I read books, Beast Boy. I know how intimate relations work. And I've heard every single thing you've ever said, so I know how to speak stupid."

"Hey, don't be dissin' my stupid speak! It's made me a millionaire!"

"What?"

A few moments later, they were both sitting in front of a computer screen, showing the funniest moments of Beast Boy's Let's Play series.

"So, millions of people pay you to sit on your ass, play those dumb games, and overreact while spouting nonsense at the intellectual level of a failing middle schooler?" asked a confused Raven.

"Yup! By now, I'm sure I'm past your royalties for being a Tokyo gum mascot!"

"Yeah, I still don't know how that happened."

"Well, at least we're all set for adulthood. There your thing, my thing, Robin's thing, Starfire's thing, Cyborg's thing…"

"Cyborg has been making money?"

"Yeah, he's made a VR machine that links up to your nervous system and puts all five of your senses into the virtual world! Bumblebee loves it!"

"How do you know this?"

"I … most certainly do not use my shape-shifting to sneak in and watch!" Beast Boy responded with a nervous fake smile.

Speak of the devil, Cyborg himself burst into the room.

"Titans, emergency!"

"Oh, hi Cyborg, buddy!" exclaimed Beast Boy. "Just talking about you! How are things with Bumblebee?"

"Uh, just fine … wait, are you spying on me?"

"Uh, no! Definitely not!"

Cyborg then turned to Raven. "Rae, did green man say he did something stupid?"

"Does he ever do anything else?"

Beast Boy gave out a good chuckle. "Good one, Raven! Never afraid to tell it like it is!"

"Sure I am. Now what's the emergency?"

Cyborg replied, "I just got a message from … hey, who trashed my stereo surround sound!"

"Robin popped the question last night!" explained Raven. "Got a little too excited."

"Oh," said Cyborg with a bit of happiness mixed with his irritation. "Well, we're gonna have to clean up before … oh, there she is."

The three of them turned to face the angelic figure floating outside the window.

/

Starfire awoke feeling just as happy as when she had fallen asleep. She rolled over and did a push, lifting her naked body over their massive bed. She could the pressure between her engagement, her fingers, and the mattress, and gazed happily at the man who had promised to be her grimgorf – her husband – a companion to be more of a friend than all other friends, to share completely in body, mind and soul.

He crawled over her naked body and wrapped her left hand around his right, so that both their engagement rings touched. She calmly blew into his ear, waking him up. He returned the gesture with a smile.

"Thank you, my grimgorf-Earth-fiancé! It is only sad that you cannot make me happier."

"Well, what if we had our wedding day … on Blorthog?"

Starfire's mouth opened in amazement and happiness.

"I know that it's your people's most sacred day, so why not make it our most sacred day?"

"Oh, yes, Robin! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

And she continued to thank him by embracing his head and kissing his lips. Her excitement made her roll the two of them over until her legs knocked over a shelf. A small box opened up, and a bright violet light shone out of it. Distracted, Robin turned to look and realizing that he had seen the contents, Starfire pushed her fiance off of him, went for the box and closed it tight.

"Star, was that … a Lantern Ring?"

"Yes," she replied ashamedly.

"So, are you with one of the Lantern Corps now?"

"No. This ring came to me once we'd come back from Tokyo. It said that my heart was full of love and I should be one of the Star Sapphires."

"And you don't want that?"

"No, I do! I would love to be able to help more people, but all the love that they say I have..." Starfire closed the box and set it on a new shelf. "I want it to be for you! I don't want to spend another day away from you. I don't want to spend each day worrying if it will be the last to spend with you. I just want us to be together, forever, to be normal."

Robin walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "So do I," he replied, and then surprisingly tripped her over and caught her in his arms. Then he jumped back into bed with her as they embraced and kissed once again.

"So, you don't think it's bad? That I do not wish to be a Lantern?"

"All the Lantern Corps will wait til their members are ready. Besides, I'd love to continue being a hero too, but I found something better – worshiping my goddess!"

Their lips embraced again and they continued to roll on the mattress until Cyborg came through the interdimensional intercom.

"Hey, lovebirds. we got an emergency out here. Code yellow!"

* * *

It's not easy being Supergirl. Oh sure, it might look easy with all the invulnerability, supersonic flight, laser vision, and so on, but controlling all of that is a bitch, and the rogues that my cousin and I go up against always seem to find a way around that. Not too mention their constant challenging of us as this world's moral inspiration by trying to get us to lose our tempers.

So as you can imagine, it's very stressful. But one day, at the start of summer after my freshman year of high school, I tasted a great relief from the stress when I teamed up with a certain boy named Robin. You see, everyone knows me as a good girl, but I'm also a VERY bad girl.

(What?  Did you really think a young lady who flies everywhere in a long-sleeved crop top and a miniskirt would be chaste?)

I feel no shame in using my X-ray vision on people, and seeing Robin's "package" combined with his selfless heroic nature made me want to do the dirty deed with him. (Also, we both shared the pain of losing everything only to be adopted into a family that was scary and unfamiliar to us, and that coupled with our shared near-destruction added a strong desire for emotional bonding along with my lewd physical urges.)

So I soon found myself flying to Wayne Manor and the two of us exchanged virginities. It was awkward, but fun for both of us. Well, right up until I decided to take over, and a second later I had broken his skeleton ... and his bed ... and his bedroom.

The funny thing, though, was that Bruce and Clark were both expecting this.  Well, they wanted Robin and I to get together, but not for me to break his body.  So while he healed, I was sent to Themyscera to fully get my strength under control.  I was trained by Wonder Woman and partnered with her daughter Wonder Girl.  Together, we discovered and embraced our sexual identities, and I decided to take on the Amazonian tradition of bedding one's partners-in-arms.

While Robin healed, I had additional team-ups with the other sidekicks -  Kid Flash (whom I can assure is definitely the fastest boy alive), Aqualad, Speedy, and Bumblebee (sidekick to The Atom).  Then when Robin got better, he succeeded in giving Wonder Girl her first orgasm, an act that fully awakened her Amazon powers.

After that, the two of us had become known among the sidekicks as Master and Mistress of the Sexual Arts.

But the next school year I made a new best friend - Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl - and confessed that she had feelings for Robin; feelings that Wonder Girl and I didn't share. I told her to follow her heart, and the following week I helped arrange for a night in Luthor’s Gotham City penthouse for them to make their relationship official.  As for me, Wonder Girl and I stopped our threesomes with Robin, finding other sidekicks to full the void.

Then Robin broke up with Batgirl. I went to console her, and realized that I wanted to be more than friends with her. But just as I had made up my mind to confess, she had One Bad Day.

While I still kept my feelings for her after the incident, she was a completely different person, and she said that she didn’t want to even be friends anymore.  Heartbroken, I too swore off all serious relationships. I also would've killed that clown had Wonder Girl not stopped me.

But there was a change in crime-fighting soon after. Robin had moved to Jump City and started the Teen Titans, and the Justice League left Earth to go aid the Green Lanterns in their war against Darkseid.  My cousin declared me to be the Champion of Earth and fastened me with a computerized bracelet that would feed me info in defeating any major supervillains still at large. And I did – League of Assassins, Kobra, The Royal Flush Gang, etc. – and now my life was more stressful than ever before.

But I did manage to have a partner: Wonder Girl, acting as both back-up and taking the lead against magical enemies. We fought well together, and celebrated every victory with an Amazonian bonding ritual, and we weren’t shy about including other young new heroes that teamed up with us.

In addition to the sidekicks, there was also Jericho, the mute guitarist who could show any woman the night of her life without saying a word.

Hot Spot, Red Star, Thunder, Lightning, Killowat - my body and Wonder Girls’s are the only ones that could withstand their extreme elements.

Pantha, the young lady wrestler with the body of a man and makes love like one too. And her friend Wildebeest, who can only do me doggy style. Up my butt. I love it!

Oh, and I can't forget Herald or Bushido. Like Wonder Girl, my nights with them have helped me become more resistant to magic.

But the most interesting was Argent, created as a hybrid of human and alien DNA to serve as their spy, but we befriended her and convinced her to turn against her creators. Once defeated, their technology was seized by the government entity known as Cadmus, and we would stop by her place whenever we visited Oceania.

But as crime and villainy decreased worldwide, we started to have more time for serious relationships.  The members of Titans East - Bumblebee, Aqualad, and Speedy - would often engage in their own threesomes that Wonder Girl and I were left out of.  But now it seems Speedy is also being left out, as Aqualad has fallen for Bumblebee.  Makes sense, since the future King of Atlantis would want a strong leader as his future Queen.

Likewise, my precious Wonder Girl really wants to be a mother, and is looking for a guy to be the father - in both making the baby and raising him or her.  She picked out Speedy as a candidate, and has started dating him online under a pseudonym to find out if he's daddy material.

As for me - well, I really enjoy having different types of super-sex available to me.  But my other partners may soon find real romance to, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to start looking.

Lois does keep saying I should give Jimmy Olsen a shot.  Maybe I will.

 


	6. Can't Go Back Home

Robin and Starfire quickly got changed and left their pocket dimension for the Titans Tower living room. Expecting to see the place tidied up for a special arrival, they instead found Beast Boy and Cyborg being juggled along with the living room furniture. Raven was meditating, keeping a safe distance away from the one juggling, who was none other than the Girl of Steel herself.

Upon seeing Robin, Supergirl happily shouted his name before dropping everyone/everything she'd been juggling. She rushed to hug him, and surprisingly did so without causing any bodily harm. "It's been so long, Robin! How've you been!"

"Pretty good, I guess."

"Well, that's putting it lightly!" Supergirl kept talking as she cleaned up her mess. "Honestly, I didn't think you were cut out for this whole team leader thing. In fact, when that cyclops guy took over the city, I was honestly tempted to come help you. But I knew you and trusted you, and here you, the greatest leader a band of heroes could ask for!"

"Wait, you could have helped us all this time?" Asked Beast Boy.

"Yes, well, the League tasked me with handling A and B-list criminals," Supergirl explained, "while you guys handle the smaller fry. And you've all done a pretty good job … Donna?"

Everyone turned to see that Wonder Girl had entered the living room from the back entrance. "Kara?"

"Wait, you two know each other?" Asked BB.

"Yes, she assists me to fight magical enemies..."

"Star, give me details!" demanded Wonder Girl, now getting in her new best friend's face. "I need to know everything about how he popped the question!"

Supergirl flew down in front of the new couple in esteemed happiness. "Wait, you, Robin … are getting married."

"Um, yes."

There were soon high-pitched feminine shrieks as Supergirl and Wonder Girl embraced their friends and gave endless streams of congratulations. Away from the chaos, Cyborg asked Raven why shouldn't didn't look the least bit happy for this.

"I am happy. Don't you know by now that this is my happy face?"

"But you've been away from Supergirl since … wait, your magic isn't hurting her, is it?"

"No, it's her mind that's toxic. I'm not reading it and I can still taste the filth in my mouth."

"Filth? Supergirl? The sweet, chaste Champion of Justice?"

"Nothing chaste about her. She hasn't stopped looking through everyone's clothes since she got in, and sex is the only thing she'll think about."

"So, you hate sex?"

"No, I just find it gross."

"Yeah, well, miss gross thoughts girl is coming your way right now."

/

Beast Boy eagerly opened up his package from STAR Labs and pulled out his new costume – a red-and-white variant of his Doom Patrol outfit. Raven had to hold back her own happiness when she pulled out her new outfit and noticed the jagged edges on the cape, resembling that of Batman. But Robin was the one to get the biggest costume upgrade, ditching his old sidekick outfit entirely for one based off of the old Kryptonian legend of Nightwing.

"Well, there's one more thing I need to do," Supergirl announced. "Last night, the Starlight Runner Observatory intercepted an extraterrestrial signal. They can't translate it by any alien languages we currently know, so we were wondering if Starfire could help out."

Starfire agreed, and Supergirl inserted the flash drive in the living room computer. Starfire happily recognized the language as Tamaranean, but her smile faded away as shelistened to the words.

"Yes, this is Tamaranean! But wait, … seeking royal blood … lost our way … home destroyed?"

Suddenly desperate, Starfire asked where it had come from. Cyborg explored the files to discover that the message had originated from the outskirts of the Vega Star System … and then he found a video file.

The audio-less video was of a hand-held camera showing dozens of Tamaranean civilians fleeing onto escape ships as their city was being conquered by their old enemy the Gondorians under leadership of Red Lanterns. After the camera boarded a ship, it continued to film out the window as the evacuation went underway, showcasing the planetwide destruction. Once all of Tamaran was in view, it exploded in a blast of red light.

Starfire could do nothing but watch with shock, horror, and disbelief. When the presentation was over, her only movement was twitching in her eyes to prevent her from crying. She was soon embraced by Supergirl, hugging her tight while planting her face into her shoulder. "It's going to be OK," she whispered, speaking as the only one who knew exactly what Starfire was feeling.

Without saying a word, Starfire took Supergirl's arms off her and flew up to the roof. Robin quickly followed behind her, but then stopped to heard toward her room to get Silkie. After getting on the roof, he found Starfire sitting on the edge with her knees underneath her chin, staring off into the ocean. She couldn't stop her mind from flashbacking to every single memory she had of her home world – playing outside, playing with Galfore, training to be a warrior, making her first friends, learning to love and look after her people, her culture, her history, her people's art and music and stories – and was continually denying that everything about where she had come from was all gone – dead and gone forever. Then she heard footsteps behind her come to a stop. She heard Robin sit down beside her and place Silkie into her lap. Having no idea what was going on, the larva happily snuggled up against the abdomen of his mistress. Starfire gave her pet a few gentle strokes, and as she started to cry, embraced Robin in her arms and balled her eyes out on his shoulder.

Robin desperately wanted to say something, to do something, anything, to take the grief away from the love of his life. But what could he do? Sure, he had seen his parents murdered in front of him, and seen many friends beaten and crippled and maimed, but she had just lost her entire culture. He could not even begin to fathom what that must feel like. All he could do was let her that he was there for her, and did so by hugging her back, and started to cry a bit himself.

About an hour or two later, Wonder Girl flew onto the roof to meet them. The couple were now both sitting together, neither crying, with Starfire resting her head on Robin's shoulder while he still hugged her in comfort.

"So, based on what I heard, your people need a new home, right?"

"Yes. I don't know what to do."

"Well, I know someone who can help – my dad."

Wonder Girl took out her communicator and flicked a button, showing a button of the Seal of the President of the United States.


	7. Meet Intergang

"You think you may have won, Oracle, but you shall never see that the true final victory belongs to the one and only Gamesmaster!"

Taking a victory handful of potato chips and washing it down with a huge sip of soda, Gamesmaster leaned back in his crappy old office chair. True, Oracle had prevented him once again from hacking into a LexCorp database, yet before he had been noticed, he had successfully installed a virus connected to his personal e-mail, designed to lay dormant until notified, and even then would not be noticed until his nefarious scheme had finally been completed.

Gamesmaster got up and shuffled his chubby body out of his workspace, and made his rounds to check on the progress of his cohorts. Mammoth and Adonis were busy having a wrestling match in their private, plexiglass fighting arena, while Johnny Rancid was waiting to fight the winner. Mammoth seemed to be having the upper hand, as usual, but this because he was fighting dirty, also as usual.

Gamesmaster then came to the simplest of the alien technology they had received: an automatic smiting machine that had succeeded embedding the ends of numerous blades with the points of diamonds. Cheshire applied these blades to her gloves, and then tested them on numerous blocks of lead nearby. The results were successful, and she got a satisfying workout as a bonus.

Gamesmaster then came to the main area of their hideout, where the alien supercomputer was still doing its calculations. Sitting at one of controls was Gizmo, monitoring the thousands of readings with his high-tech backpack, and on the other end was Red X, doing the same but on his own. Across from the machine, Psimon and Kid Wykkyd were exchanging in what seemed to be a life-size version of chess, but with otherworldly pieces.

"How is our little concoction coming?"

"Just swell," replied Gizmo. "Just a few more hours, and we'll have a fear toxin carefully designed for each of those annoying, cruddy Titans!"

"Excellent! There's only one thing that could make this better! Red X, go out and get us all Chinese!"

Red X sighed. "Why is it that I am the one who has to get dinner every night?"

"Because you're the only one of us who can pass off as normal! Except for me, but I need to stay here and run things."

Red X groaned in despair as he got up and left for the door.

"Now to speak to our mad doctor face-to-face!"

Gamesmaster then went into the "guest room", which had been given to Scarecrow, who had done nothing but study everything he could be given the Titans, from newspaper articles to the intel that had been confiscated from Slade's mysterious disappearance. The most helpful information had been dubbed as the Terra Files, giving detailed weaknesses on all the Titans' strengths and weaknesses. Of special note was Raven's demonic anger outbursts. After reading them, all the other rogues were too frightened to take her on, claiming that nobody would be crazy enough to risk making her mad. Anyone but Scarecrow.

"So, I've heard that you and Cheshire have … bonding, is that right?"

"You're afraid of dying a virgin."

"What? No, I just heard about you getting lucky, and though I could ask for some… advice?"

"It's all about compatibility. She likes to inflict pain, and pain frightens me."

"Right, then. And what of your own personal studies?"

"I honestly wish I had moved her sooner!" exclaimed Scarecrow with glee. "This Raven girl, she is so much more intriguing than the Bat. She has the body of an angel and the soul of a demon, but her mind is still very much human. If ultimate fear is truly contained within her, then I will get it out by breaking that fragile mind of hers, which fortunately is what I do best!"

"And how do you plan on doing this?"

"Oh, very simply. I just have to harm her friends so far past the point of forgiveness that she will abandon all reason and let her rage take over, and then I shall finally have my true nightmare!"

"And which of her friends shall you hurt to accomplish this!"

"ALL OF THEM!" Scarecrow triumphantly proclaimed.

But Gamesmaster just gawked back in disappointment.

"What do you mean 'all of them'? Are you telling me that in all your study, you haven't noticed the one that she is truly in love with, wants to have steaming hot intercourse with, and wants to populate the city with their unholy offspring?"

"Um, no I don't see any…"

Gamesmaster grabbed multiple pictures and shoved them into Scarecrow's face as he continued his rant. "It's Beast Boy, you idiot! Raven and Beast Boy are so obviously a thing! Look at how close they're always standing next to each other, how they always help each other the most in every battle, or the biggest thing of all, THEIR SMILES! Look at these cute little smiles at the other! If that's not true love, then I'm a Windows 98 Word Processor!"

"Um, none of that means they're in love, they're just really close and…"

"Allo, me duckies!" Mad Mod made his presence known by barging into the room with such gusto that he sent Gamesmaster and Scarecrow off their feet. "Just thought you should all know that a certain chap named Neil Richards, who may or not be yours truly, has successfully infiltrated the upcoming Aurora Fashion Show with his one-of-a-kind hypnosis screens!"

"Well, that's just dandy," responded Gamesmaster abruptly. "Say, since you both are going to be leading the attack, why don't you get to know each other a little better, OK? Great, bye!"

Gamesmaster quickly shut the door behind him and walked back to the main room. Right on time, a boom tube opened, and through it came a herald from Apokolips – a female Red Lantern with a tall, slender, humanoid figure completely covered in red light taking the form of battle armor save for her mouth and the long black hair that flowed down to her waist.

"Is the technology still fully functional?" she asked.

"Most certainly! Intergang is completely grateful for Lord Darkseid's generous donations!"

"And what of the Anti-Life Equation?"

"Ah, yes! We analyzed the data from the demonic beasts that caught Darkseid's attention. We have matched the data to a person of earth – a member of the Teen Titans called Raven. Preparations are already under way to have three, or rather two now, of the greatest mind manipulators break her mind and…"

Then Scarecrow's door blew open as a thick cloud of his fear toxin poured out. Mad Mod appeared in the door way, with extreme looks of fright permanently etched into their faces. He fell forward, face down on the ground, his body rapidly aging until it became a dusty husk. Scarecrow walked over him, carrying his new staff and hat.

"Watching people's fears materialize is so much more rewarding than just hallucinating to it. If I'd known it be this much fun, I would've forsaken science and gone straight to magic!"

"Scarecrow, you idiot!" shouted Gamesmaster. "What is it with you and killing off my team?"

"It's not my fault they served me no purpose. Am I supposed to be more family-friendly just because I'm in a safer city now?"

"You're supposed to be a team player now! With both of you combined, you were supposed to be unstoppable!"

"You really expected me to work with that severely outdated national stereotype? I should have given up on Gotham and moved here long ago, and taught this city what true terror looks like!"

"Wow", said the Red Lantern in a way that conveyed sensual desire. "That truly is ruthless for someone from such a primitive world." She walked up to Scarecrow, looked him over from head to toe, and then turned to face Gamesmaster.

"I've decided to spend the night here", she announced.

"What? Whatever for?"

"Well, it's just that it's been a while since I've had to use my womanhood to get what I wanted, and I am in serious need of some stress relief."

Scarecrow rolled his eyes. "Look lady, I'm afraid…"

The Red Lantern grabbed him by the neck and flew him into the nearest wall, cracking it on impact and sending him into a state of shock for several seconds. She gazed into him and he could feel the sadistic, lustful desires behind her glowing green eyes, as well as her breasts being pushed against his chest.

"…and you fit the profile I need perfectly!" she finished.

"Lady, you're scaring me." Scarecrow smiled. "I like that!"

"Pardon me, but he's already being used as someone's nightly stress relief," warned Gamesmaster.

"Then she can join us!" replied the Red Lantern gleefully. "Or he; I have no preference as long as they love suffering!"


	8. Dawn of a New Day

Starfire opened her laptop and begun an e-mail addressed to Dr. Yusuf Abdulla at the Starlight Runner Observatory:

"Dear Very Kind Professor

If the rulers of this world decide to allow my people to make a new home on this world's moon, then I consider it to be my royal duty to help this happen. I have even prepared an audio message to send to the Tamaranean armada. I hope that you can deliver it.

Sincerely

Starfire

P.S. Thank you for your words of encouragement; I hope that more stories like ours will show that our peoples will be able to live and love together"

Then she opened up an audio record and began her message:

"Survivors of Tamaran,

This is the Royal Princess Koriand'r

I was stolen away from my home, but by the most gracious X'Hal I managed to make it to this wonderful place, where I was blessed to make new friends, find true love, and discover my role to play on this world. This place is called Earth, and its people are kind enough to let you live on its moon. Our two peoples are very different, yet we are also so much more alike, and we will be able to live together in peace, harmony, and love.

Together we can build our new home.

Our New Tamaran"

She attached the audio message, sent the e-mail, and exhaled a sigh of relief. As she scratched Silkie's head while whispering a prayer to X'Hal, she heard a soft knock on her bedroom door. Starfire opened it and saw Raven transformed into looking "normal".

Thanks to more of Cyborg's hologram rings, Raven's hair was now black, her eyes blue, and her skin was like that of a young fair-skinned Asian woman. She wore a black sleeveless top that cut off about an inch above her belly button and carried the Linkinfivesense logo on it. She had black-and-purple striped fingerless gloves that went passed her elbows, and wore similarly attired stockings underneath a dark denim miniskirt. To complete the Goth look, she also had on black combat boots and a black choker around her neck.

"Raven, you look … normal!" exclaimed Starfire.

"Um, thanks," replied Raven, not sure how to take that. "Do you mind if I come in and talk?"

"Why of course friend!" she answered, and she made sitting space for the two of them on her bed with Silkie on her lap.

"Well, I know that this is going to sound weird, but…"

"Don't worry, the first day of being normal can be weird, but I'm sure that that you will find nice people like Wonder Girl and you will get used to it!"

"No, that's not it. I wanted to know … when did you realize that you were in love with Robin?"

"Oh, that's a tough one," responded the alien princess. "Well, it was definitely long before Tokyo. While I have always loved him as a friend, I guess I noticed that after we had defeated Slade the first time that he had all the qualities of a great Tamaranean warrior, one who is meant to lead his people and thus be a proper mate for one of royal blood. But I was first for sure of it when he had to go on the horrible date with that awful Kitten girl!"

"What, the Killer Moth girl?"

"Yes, we Tamaraneans value love above all else, and romantic love is the one above all others; thus forcing someone into fulfilling romantic or lustful desires is the unforgiveable sin. That horrible Kitten filled me with much hate, because I knew that Robin deserved someone whom he could grow into love with. And I realized that someone was me!"

"OK, so what you're saying is that you knew when you became … jealous?"

"Yes! I mean, no, jealousy is not good for…" Then Starfire placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. "If there is a friend that you wish to be your grimgorf, just spend time with them, and maybe they will want you to be their grimgorf too!"

"More time? Yeah, OK, I can do that."

"Yes, do not be encouraged, friend Raven!" Starfire said while giving a big hug (but not one that could potentially break a spine). "I hope that you and Beast Boy will be even cuter together!"

"Wait, WHAT?!"

"Your carriage awaits, milady!" said Cyborg's voice in a faux-British accent coming through Starfire's communicator. She took one last look in the mirror, straightened out her hair and dress, and then activated her hologram rings.

"I'm sorry that I can't make it your big fashion show," apologized Raven.

"Don't worry, good friend. You and Beast Boy have with dancing to Linn Corn Fivepenny! Don't be afraid to kiss!"

Starfire left a confused Raven as Kory Anders, and accompanied her fiancé Richard Grayson in a fancy car driven by a Victor Stone, who bore remarkable resemblance to Cyborg.

Half an hour later, Beast Boy returned from his patrol and began preparing himself for the concert, while Raven sat on her bed while looking herself over in the mirror. She didn't have a crush on Beast Boy; at least she didn't think she did. But now that Starifre had brought it up, she began to wonder if she saw him as more than a friend.

No, that was ludicrous! Beast Boy was a goofy little brother – the type that annoys you for attention but you always got each other's back when the time comes for it. But then, why did she ask Starfire about falling in love? Ever since defeating her father, her powers had grown stronger, as had her desire to become more emotionally bonded. Did one of those bonds wish to grow into romance? Was that bond really with the green weirdo?

No, there were more important matters, like being surrounded by so many people for the first time. Raven had always been a recluse, and she honestly didn't have the faintest idea of how she would handle be surrounded by so many people at once. She had faced the greatest untold horrors the universe had to offer, yet her greatest fear was that of strangers.


	9. The Unlikeliest Date

Ultimately, Beast Boy came knocking on her door. She answered and there he was, looking like a typical teenage boy, complete with sneakers, jeans, a long-sleeve shirt underneath short-sleeve shirt, and sunglasses combined with a hologram-ring projection that made him look like a Tom Cruise wanna-be.

"Hey, Raven…" then he stopped quickly gland her over from toe to head. "Wow, you look gorgeous!"

At first, Raven thought he was just being flattering, but then her empathic abilities told her that he legitimately thought that she looked beautiful – even more beautiful than Terra.

"You, you really think so?"

"Yeah, Rae! You look totally … you! So, you ready o go then?" he asked while holding out his hand. Raven thought this was weird, but sensed that this was merely a friendly gesture, so she took her friend's hand.

They went to the Titans Tower garage where Beast Boy unveiled his brand-new moped, given to him as a gift from Queen Industries after saving a VP's daughter from a kidnapping. Beast Boy gleefully hopped and invited Raven to "get in". Raven briefly hesitated before hopping onto the moped, her chest pushing against Beast Boy's back with her hands tightly wrapped around his torso.

Once they both realized they could feel the other's racing heartbeats, the two jumped off the moped, shrieked like little girls, and stared at each other dumbfounded.

"Raven, what … what was that?"

"I, uh, isn't that what you wanted me to do?"

"Um, well, what I meant for you to get into the side seat carrier!"

Only then did Raven notice the 'side seat carrier' – what someone would attach to a motorcycle for the sake of carrying an extra passenger.

"I didn't know they made those for mopeds."

"They don't; I attached it myself!" bragged Beast Boy, just before the duct tape and superglue concoction joining the carrier to the moped fell apart.

Raven rolled her eyes. "I got it."

Soon, Beast Boy was driving his dream vehicle through downtown Jump City, while Raven held the carrier to it via her black magic. During the ride, Raven tried to decipher exactly what his feelings were towards her, but all she could manage was that he was just as confused as she was.

When they came to a stop sign, Beast Boy decided to bring up the issue of secret identities.

"OK, so we're out normal in public, so we gotta have normal lines. I'm going with the name I had before this whole hero thing – Mark Logan!"

"Really?" asked Raven slyfully. "I thought your given name was Garfield?"

Right on cue, she could sense Beast Boy's embarrassment.

"Well, it's just my middle name, and I never found that orange cat funny, and lots of people go by their middle name!"

"OK, then … Gar! You can call me Rachel Roth tonight."

"Rachel? What's wrong with Raven? It's a pretty name."

"Well, it's the first name my mother … wait, you think that?"

"Always have."

Now Raven was even more confused, and it continued the rest of the way to the concert site. She and Beast Boy left their helmets on the moped while bringing small Bird or Devil bags for merchandise, as well as their superhero clothes in case there was an emergency.

Due to their being over 50 ticket vendors, the line moved rather quickly, and they were surrounded by a crowd of their fellow Bird or Devil fans. Raven was anxious at first, but sensing his ecstatic joy at the place was even to keep her mind calm.

After several minutes, the two separated by accident. Beast Boy noticed a trio of young punk chicks and began flirting with them, while Raven found herself drawn to the goth-style merchandise, and soon found herself purchasing numerous items, including jewelry and poetry both hand-crafted by the band's lead singer.

However, as the two drifted apart, Raven's empathic connection to Beast Boy was weakened, and his feelings were replaced by those of the strangers around her. Losing the ability to think straight, she started to feel woozy as her vision started to blur and she stumbled around as though she were drunk. She would have fallen over had a young couple not stopped her, asking her if she was OK while informing her that she looked a bit too young to be drinking.

Raven mumbled out some words, which became a more coherent, "I need to find Mark," as her level-headedness was restored by Beast Boy, quickly approaching with the punk chick trio in tow.

"Rae-Rae, are you doing OK?"

"Is this your girl?" asked the man of the couple.

"No, she's my, uh … half twin sister!"

"Your half twin sister?"

"Yeah, yeah, same daddy, different moms, born same day! She doesn't get out much 'cuz she has big social anxiety issues…"

"So, your sister is special needs, then?"

"Uh, yeah, but she really likes Bird or Devil, it's her favorite band, so…"

"So, my loving brother here brought me out here to show me how crowds aren't scary and, uh, rock all night!" chipped in Raven, trying her best to sound convincing. Then she gave her "half twin brother" a thank you hug.

Not only did their act work, but Beast Boy's apparent sibling affection earned him the phone numbers of all three punk chicks, as well as the woman of the couple (who claimed to be in an open relationship).

"Did you just use me to score some dates?" asked a confused Raven, still in hugging mode.

"I think I did."

Raven sensed that Beast Boy was ecstatically happy about the affair, and that was enough to make her equally happy. She sensed no jealousy or any other ill feelings toward her friend, and happily smiled back at him, complimenting, "How very devilish of you!"

After spending an hour trying to find the only concession stand with vegan food, they made their way to the official auditorium. They stage was lit black, and as the goth/punk/alternative-metal sound started getting louder, the band members were introduced one-by-one.

First, there was the drummer, then the bassist/screamer/growler, then the lead guitarist, then the keyboardist/rapper/DJ/violinist/percussionist, and finally the female lead singer and rhythm guitarist. The band started out with their most recent chart topper, "Let The Fear Take Control".

For the first time in her life, Raven felt as though she belonged with a crowd of strangers, because all their minds were in sync with how much they enjoyed the band. She herself got lost in the music, her mind developing a deep connection with the lyrics and music and how they related to her.

She was so immersed in the experience that it wasn't until the completion of the band's sixth song that she realized her communicator had been ringing. She answered it and heard Cyborg's exasperated, terrified voice:

"Get over here now! The fashion show … it's …"


	10. Master of Terror

couple casually walked passed the paparazzi that had previously labelled them as The Luckiest Couple in the World.

After parking the car, Cyborg adjusted his hologram-rings to look like another rich patron, and succeeded in getting into the Aurora Runway Fashion Show with the alias, "Victor Stone – Representative of STAR Labs", claiming to be there to observe the results of a new acne treatment.

The runway show started like any other: the male singer came out dressed like Frank Sinatra and started seeing a generic big band song as the models all came out from behind the stage and strutted up and down the runway. Robin felt nothing but pride seeing his precious fiancée take her turn down the runway, finally doing something she loved while being accepted as part of the world she had come to know as her new home.

Up above the ceiling, Gizmo and Red X had completed tampering with the sprinklers. On the right musical queue, he pulled a lever that released enough fear toxin to fill a community center swimming pool into the event hall beneath him. The models furthest down the runway were the first to be affected, beginning to walk like they were having a hangover. Then one by one, they fell to the ground, and then began crawling backwards while screeching in terror as their greatest fears began to materialize in front of them. The fears ranged from being covered with arachnids to becoming unexpectedly pregnant to seeing a seeing a childhood pet come back as a zombie. The chaos soon spread to the photographers and the audience soon went into a mass panic, writhing in horror as their worst nightmares came to life. Through all of this, the big band song became more and more disorientated.

Robin was ashamed that it took him so long to overcome his initial shock, and it was only because he recognized the smell of the gas. He also noticed that the event hall began to transform into a hellish haunted house interior. Robin looked up at the singer and saw that he was seemingly pulling the flesh off his face, revealing a burlap sack mask underneath. He took a fedora out from his suit and put it on, and while doing so a flock of crows flew out and tore up his suit, revealing his Scarecrow attire underneath. Then he extended his microphone into his sickle-staff and properly introduced his intentions:

"Don't be afraid, Jump City. Just let the fear take control!"

Starfire had no idea what was happening, but she immediately began to blast all the living nightmares into dust clouds with her starbolts while removing all the civilians from the building, quickly enough to find time in between flights to change into her superhero costume. While Robin dodged the crowd, he simultaneously changed into his new costume while calling Kid Flash on his communicator, order him to run as fast as he could to the Gotham City Police Department and bring back enough fear toxin antidote for a hundred people.

Cyborg was pointlessly trying to stop fights until he saw Scarecrow reveal himself on stage. He quickly rushed to punch him, but Scarecrow dodged the punch, grabbed Cyborg's arm, and threw himself into the air before landing behind him. Cyborg quickly turned around and got a blast of fear toxin straight in the face.

As Cyborg coughed and regained sight, he got knocked down by materializing green cloud, his worst nightmare now materializing. As Cyborg looked up, he saw the cloud slowly take the form of his worst nightmare – a giant spider with black widow legs, a tarantula body, and the face of his third-grade music teacher.

Cyborg gave out a girly scream and ran away in terror with both arms in the air.

"Hey, you get back here young man and learn how to properly crescendo!" shouted the spider-teacher in pursuit.

Scarecrow was rather confused by this slightly comedic take on what would normally come out as terrifying. He then felt himself lassoed and yanked stage right. The yank of superhuman strength was ended with a fist right to the face. For a moment, he could tell that the lasso and the sucker punch were both from none other than Wonder Girl herself, decked out in her red-with-yellow-stars sleeveless-spandex outfit.

Wonder Girl's punch sent Scarecrow to leave a human-sized dent in the wall, losing his hat and cane in the process. "Lady, that was terrifying!" he exclaimed.

"It is the duty of an Amazon to strike fear into the hearts of her enemies!" Wonder Girl proclaimed back, picking Scarecrow's scythe-staff. "It is only then that evil will learn to fear justice and…"

Then the staff burst into flames, and Wonder Girl dropped it in pain and panic. Then she dropped the lasso as she noticed that her surroundings were not only catching on fire, but also trying to attack her as well, sending her into a deadly game of tag across the building.

Still tied up by the lasso, Scarecrow was then picked up by a very angry Robin, now dressed in his new costume: a black-and-blue décor that was tight enough to show off is impressively muscular build.

"Why here, Scarecrow?"

"Gotham no longer has a need for someone like me. Even with the rest of the Bat's Rogues safely locked up, the whole city is still a nightmare. I needed some place new, some place fresh, some place that truly needed a good horror master, and this boring city seemed like the perfect fit. Besides, I wanted to see just how much the Boy Wonder had grown up, and speaking of which, where is he?"

"You're looking at him. By the way, it's Nightwing now."

"Nightwing? That's a good name, but not all that scary."

Robin had deduced that the fear gas was doing more than just giving its victims hallucinations, but making them take some form of reality, which could not have been accomplished by any scientific means.

"Since when have you practiced magic?" Robin asked. "And why? Aren't you a man of science?"

"No, I am a man of fear, the master of fear, and I'll use whatever means I can to … wait, how come my fear toxin isn't affecting you?"

"I've taken the antidote so many times I'm pretty much immune to your toxin!"

Then Robin felt a needle stab him in the back. As he dropped Scarecrow, he heard Cheshire, "Well then, I guess you'll just have to take an extra dose then!" she bragged as she leaped back into the shadows. Robin turned around to disfigured forms of the Batman Rogues begin to materialize and invite him to watch a chick flick marathon.

As Robin started his fight, Scarecrow managed to grab his hat before a starbolt hit the floor near him. He looked up and saw Starfire, eyes glowing green with anger.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded.

"Well, if it isn't the Boy Wonder's main squeeze!" Scarecrow chuckled as he stood back up. "Saw a photo of the two of you together in Tokyo, and I thought, 'Wow, he truly has earned the title of Boy Wonder! I think I'll congratulate him by stopping by his city and giving the place a fright for old time's sake!'"

Starfire flew right up to him. "Your actions are reprehensible, and scaring people is not polite!"

"Um, is that supposed to make me change my ways or something?"

"You will stop what you are doing right now and then…"

Starfire then just barely caught Cheshire leaping at her from the corner of her eye. The assassin had taken time between attacks to fasten on a new set of claws. The two had a short-lived fight in which Cheshire's newly diamond-encrusted blades succeeded in cutting Starfire's skin, inserting some fear toxin into her blood that had been modified just for her.

The toxin worked and the wall behind Starfire turned into a multi-tentacled mass that embraced her and slithered around her entire body, going underneath her clothes and into every crack in her flesh. When she, Cheshire, and Scarecrow all assumed that the worst was going to happen, the tentacles all grew hundreds of tiny appendages and started vibrating, ferociously tickling the alien princess.

"Help! Help!" screamed Starfire as she laughed without control. "It's the tickle monster!"

Both Scarecrow and Cheshire stood by looking equally perplexed.

"Well, this was unexpected. Would you mind cutting this lasso?" asked Scarecrow.

"Yes, it is," replied Cheshire, setting the mad doctor free. "I'll go keep the Amazon busy."

"Oh no, you don't!" ordered Scarecrow, putting back on his fedora. "She has more rage than the rest of her friends, and more rage means more fear! I'll handle her."

"Then what am I to do?"

"Be a look-out or something," replied Scarecrow, picking up his scythe-staff. "Let me know when the one we came for appears."

Cheshire begrudgingly accepted these orders, and sat down to absorb the chaos around her. Robin was trying to hold his breath while dodging the Bat Rogues recreating cheesy romance scenes, while Starfire was still caught in a laughing fit, and Cyborg desperately calling for Beast Boy and Raven while the teacher-spider was forcing him to properly play a xylophone.

Wonder Girl was still trying to evade the sentient fire when Scarecrow landed in front of her, and not noticing that the fire had taking the form of something else Wonder Girl feared- teenyboppers following the latest cultural trend with no regard for quality. Wonder Girl was terrified, but nevertheless took on a martial art fighting stance to prepare for a fight.

"Give me a taste of your fear, Amazon!" shouted Scarecrow in a distorted voice, preparing his scythe blade for combat. "Assuming, of course, that you're a real Amazon, after all!"


	11. Prophet Still if Bird or Devil

When Beast Boy and Raven finally came to the site of the Aurora Runway Show, it appears a massive dark orange cloud had taken up the entire inside of the building. They came through about 15 feet of cloud when they found not a runway stage as they had both expected, but décor that remind them of the haunted houses from the cheap horror movie marathons the Titans watched each Halloween weekend. Specifically, they appeared to be in the middle of a hallway with six massive doors. To complete the cliché, there was complete and total silence.

"OK," advised Beast Boy, "If I know my horror movies, we should pick two doors for which nothing happens, and then at the third door we'll get a jump…"

Then Robin came crashing through one of the doors, followed by living hallucinations of Two-Face, Riddler, Penguin, Mad Hatter, and Killer Croc. The Two-Face and Riddler ones pinned him to the ground, while the Penguin forced him to read Nicholas Sparks.

"Go on, little boy!" he mocked. "Cry for the Bat to come save you!"

Then Cyborg immediately came bursting out of another room, covered in spider webbing. The teacher monster tore down the rest of the doorway and dragged Cyborg back towards him, sticking his hands to a piano and forcing to play "All Those Endearing Young Charms" on a repeating exploding piano. Starfire spilled out her room along with the tentacled mass, struggling to break free from the perpetual tickling. A fourth door had Jinx breaking through, struggling to keep up in her fight against Cheshire, and was also trying to shake off snakes growing out of her body.

Finally, Scarecrow and Wonder Girl came crashing through the ceiling, both enveloped by fire. Wonder Girl lay beaten on the ground, her skin having multiple burns and needle stabs, and struggling to stand back up, her resolve not yet broken. Scarecrow was still dancing without a care in the world.

"Is this the best that Themyscira has to offer?" he mocked. "At least try to give me a little bit of a fright!"

He was then startled by a very angry Raven rising behind him, eyes glowing, arms stretched out, and her cape rising. Scarecrow was more than thrilled at this sight, and took off his fedora in preparation.

Raven started to give her battle cry – "Nobody hurts my friends" – but couldn't as Scarecrow quickly pull out Dr. Light's photon gun from his fedora, and with it blasted Raven with a huge beam of light knocking her backwards.

Raven got up and was shocked to see the villain walking towards her with a murderous smile.

"If you're going to attack someone, attack! Don't talk."

Scarecrow was then immediately caught off guard by Beast Boy, slithering around him as snake constricting him so that he was tied up in the shapeshifter's coils. Wonder Girl was finally managing to stand up when Scarecrow managed to shoot some fear toxin from his staff into Beast Boy's face, forcing him to revert into human form.

As Beast Boy recovered, he saw his worst nightmare materialize in front of him:

Rednecks.

Or at least, what someone who had absolutely no exposure to redneck or hillbilly culture thought they would be like. Along with plaid shirts and overalls, they all grew buck teeth, were holding rusty hunting rifles that had been modified to double as banjos, and spoke incoherent sentences about screwing their sisters in between slave beatings and gay burnings.

This terrified Beast Boy, and he was soon running around the room while the three questionably offensive stereotypes hunted him down while arguing about how to count to 10.

Scarecrow thought nothing of this, but was delighted to see Raven flying towards him again. Using his newly-obtained magic skills to bend the light from the photon gun, he put up a fight that ended with Raven being tied by beams of light as though she was being forced to lay on an examination coach. With his guard down, Wonder Girl tried to punch Scarecrow, but he easily grabbed her arm, thrust her onto the ground, and sat on her like a chair. Having lost all her strength to the fear toxin, DWonder Girl finally succumbed to her fear of being too weak to never give up.

"So, Miss Raven," started Scarecrow, "how are we feeling today?"

"Not good, you son of a bitch!" growled Raven, breaking free from the light beams. Scarecrow activated two other light weapons on his wrists, which shot at light beams that extended like swords. He leaped and attacked Raven, who countered with swords of her own constructed from her dark magic.

"Hey, that's not a very nice thing to say! Especially after I came all this way just to see you! I mean, how would you feel if you got this treatment from Batman?"

A started Raven briefly lost her footing, but managed to regain it as she continued to repel Scarecrow's attack. "So, what if that were to happen?" she asked rather bashfully.

"Oh, it's obvious that he was your biggest inspiration. I mean, just look at your costume: tight black outfit, belt around the waist, long dark cape, chest emblem with the image of your animal namesake, head covering that only shows your eyes and mouth, and you never, ever smile. Not to mention your name, a dark creature of the night associated with horror. In layman's terms, that's some major fangirling!"

Raven did not appreciate a total sadistic stranger getting that deep into her psyche. Nobody could get into her mind unless she allowed it! "What are you getting at?" she demanded.

"Oh, it's just that I know a lot about you, so I can see how you would look up to the Bat as a type of role model. But the biggest similarity is that you both share the same fear!"

"Fear of what?"

"The fear of becoming a monster. You exist in this world, protect this world, limit your potential in this world, simply for the sake of your friends. They love you for who and what you are, something you could never do on your own! Loving them is your only true purpose, just like how the Bat loves everyone who looks up to him. But this means for both of you, your greatest fear disregarding the emotions of all those who matter to you in favor of your own petty selfish desires!"

"Shut up! If you knew me, you'd know I've already defeated my greatest nightmare!"

"Is that so? Well, let me explain this scenario. You see, my fear toxin coupled with my new magic brings my patients' greatest fears to life. As we both know, your greatest fear is to become a monster, and the worst monster is one who sacrifices her friends for her own personal enjoyment. In that way, the worst way to lose your friends would be if they endured their own greatest nightmares, and you refused to help them because their suffering amused you!"

"I would never…"

"One more thing – normally, my fear toxin just skims the surface of the subconscious to bring out the fear, but thanks to your presence and your black magic mind working as an amplifier, my toxin has grown much stronger, digging deep into the psyche to upgrade the hallucinations from nightmares to night terrors. So, by now, all your friends should be seeing their own minds completely conquered by fear. Go ahead and see if I'm wrong. I think you'll like it!"

Then Raven suddenly realized that she hadn't used her empathic abilities since she had arrived in the building. It was also right then that she could feel the absolute terror of each of her friends:

Robin helplessly watched as everyone he ever loved feel to their demise below him.

Starfire had to endure Silkie spitting on her face, jumping out of her arms, and happily accepting Blackfire as his new master. Her evil sister then put on a monocle and stroked Silkie like a cat while lowering Starfire into a pit inhabited by a monstrous Chryssalid Eater, and Silkie stuck out his tongue while wagging his worm-butt.

Cyborg was stuck playing the same piano tune, but instead of exploding, the piano opened to reveal the corpse of his mother, which Gizmo forced him to look at.

Instead of Cheshire, Jinx now saw her boyfriend Kid Flash, who then stabbed her and the poison from her blades made her fall unconscious. Beast Boy was no longer being chased by rednecks, but instead being roasted over a fire pit while they drank beer and sang bluegrass. Wonder Girl still saw mythological monsters in the fire, but she also saw the face of Wonder Woman, scolding her for giving up.

After it all, Raven her a voice inside her say:

"Such beautiful screams. Their agony is my joy."

As soon as she had heard that, Raven screamed out, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" create a huge blast of black energy that sent Scarecrow across the room, knocking him off his feet. Then she grabbed Scarecrow's staff and hat, flew with them up to the ceiling, and shouted her three magic words again.

The staff and hat were encompassed in a black ball of dark magic, which exploded and destroyed its contents, ridding all hallucinations from the room, so that everyone and everything appeared normal once again.

Raven repeated her magic words, but this time more gently, and black rays of magic streamed out from her chakra and into the heads of her fellow Titans (and Wonder Girl), removing them of all mental anguish. Once that was over, Raven opened her eyes and stared angrily down at Scarecrow, who simply responded with a slow clap.

"Very impressive," he complimented. "Although with your records, I was expecting a lot more in terms of property damage."

He then felt Wonder Girl grab one of his arms with both hands, and then throw him onto the floor.

"Was that frightening enough for you?" she asked angrily while ripping his mask off.

Wonder Girl had little time to be shocked at what she saw – a computerized disk over Scarecrow's left eye like a monocle. A wire ran from this monocle, under his shirt, underneath his left sleeve, and connected to the scope on a dart gun. Immediately, Scarecrow fired at Beast Boy, hitting him right on the left shoulder. Raven rushed down to him and yanked the dart out, but realized that its effects were already taking their toll.

"Mom, Dad? Is that you? Robotman, Elastigirl? Mento, Cyborg, Robin, Raven! Terra! Star … no! No please, no! Come back! NO!"

"A special dose, that I made just for the green one!" bragged Scarecrow. "Five times the normal concentration! Or was it 50 times?"

After a gasp for air, Beast Boy fell silent. Cradling him in her arms, Raven could feel his heartbeat, but she knew that his mind was gone. As she looked back towards Scarecrow, she gritted her teeth together and her eyes glowed red.

Robin sensed the un-tameable wrath about to be unleashed, and ordered for everyone to leave. The remaining villains left the way they came, and Cyborg ran for cover while Robin and Starfire carried Wonder Girl and Jinx respectively to safe hiding places.

All the while, a darkness stretched from underneath Raven's cloak and filled the room, covering Scarecrow in a cocoon much to his delight. Waving black tentacles came out from Raven's body as she appeared to grow taller, all the while repeating what she had said before…

"Nobody

Hurts

My

FRIENDS!"

After a flash of black light, Cyborg, Robin and Starfire peered into the room to see it covered with what appeared to be decomposing black vines. Scarecrow was trapped in a black cocoon, and Raven was still cradling Beast Boy, her chakra pressed against his forehead while begging for a response. When he couldn't provide one, Raven enveloped herself and her friend in her soul self, and the two flew away through the ceiling.

The remaining Titans leaned against the wall to recollect what had just happened.

"Hey, Wonder Girl," Robin finally acknowledging the fellow sidekick in his arms.

"Oh, hey Robin", she replied while blushing.

"Ooo, Wonder Girl?" asked Cyborg, holding out his hand for a shake. "I'm a big fan of your momma!"

"Thanks, I get that a lot."

As they shook hands, Robin placed Wonder Girl down and as Cyborg helped her to stand up, Robin went over to check on Starfire, holding a still knocked-out Jinx while pulling pieces of broken-off blades from her arm.

"I will be OK, Robin. My people's wounds heal quickly, but I did not think there was anything on this world that could cut me."

Then Cyborg informed them of an incoming transmission from Kid Flash, the audio of which he played, where the speedster sounded very exhausted:

"OK, Robin I … went to Gotham … got the antid- … right outside Auror- … gonna faint now."


	12. Goddess Among Us

"Just give me a second to change."

"There's no time for that," informed Robin. "The fear toxin leaves scarring over the nerves and blood vessels that must be treated immediately, especially with the amount that we've been exposed to."

"But what about our secret identities? Will not people want to know why Dick, Kory, Donna, and Victor came in and, yet it is us who came out?"

"There's no time, Star! Our bodies are breaking and we all need the antidote now! We'll just have to say that our alter egos were kidnapped, or something!" As he started walking towards the exit, he apologized for the anger in his outburst.

The five heroes exited the building all helping each other walk, with Starfire and Wonder Girl both carrying their clothing bags. The Jump City police escorted them to ambulances to receive the last of the antidote. Jinx was laid next to a passed-out Kid Flash, whom the paramedics were attempted to revive by forcing him to swallow various sports drinks. Starfire had to have the needle delivered through a still open wound, and while she didn't mind the needle, she needed to hold back a yell of pain from the antidote itself. Robin and Cyborg both showed signs of recovery after one antidote injection, and while Rob and Star both received compliments for their rescue efforts, Cyborg had to endure several people shouting at him for using their vehicles or businesses as weapons in street fights.

Wonder Girl, however, was not so lucky. Based on the number of times Scarecrow had stabbed her, the paramedics didn't think they had enough for a suitable treatment. She accepted what they had, all the while regretting that they toxin had forced her to surrender in her fight against her nightmares. As the paramedics gave her the last injection, she answered a call from her cell phone.

"Hi, Oracle. I'm fine … it's over, everyone is safe now … What, when? … But he wasn't supposed … He called?"

She abruptly hung up and saw that she had missed 27 calls from Roy Harper, her long-distance boyfriend from Star City wasn't meant to arrive for another week. Then she looked over to the police barricade and saw him, desperately pleading with an officer. They were approached by a policewoman with a notepad, and Wonder Girl could only assume that she was just informing him that she had been recorded as missing.

Wonder Girl used what strength she had left to fly up and land behind Roy, and then order him to "come with me". He reluctantly grabbed her hand, and she flew him up to the top of the building across the street. Then she opened her clothing bag, pulled out her glasses, and stretched out her arms as if to say "Ta-da!". After a brief pause, Roy responded by taking off his glasses putting on a mask, revealing himself to be Speedy.  After another brief pause, the damage from the toxin forced her to collapse forward, and Speedy caught her in his arms as he wept for joy.

"Huh," muttered Cyborg, watching with his enhanced vision. "I guess the glasses really do work."

//////////////////////////////////////

Beast Boy's unconscious body lay on one of five tables, at the bottom of a cone of purple light. Next to him, Raven was gently massaging his mind, whispering her three-word chant, hoping in desperation that he would recover.

"How did it feel?" asked a deep, echoing voice from the darkness. "Good? Righteous? Holy? To give that monster what he deserved. To make sure that he could never harm another innocent. To forsake justice and carry out vengeance."

Raven sighed and prepared for a confrontation. "The monks of Azarath told me about you. They said that you were a mockery of the good you stand for, a force of violence more terrible than the evil you stand again. That is what you, isn't it, Spectre?"

The ghostly angel appeared in front of her, his dark green cape covering his pale naked body, and his eyes burning and angry green with yellow irises.

"So, your caretakers told you that I was an evil unleashed upon this world. Did they not say the same about you?"

"What do you want?" Raven demanded.

"To hear my story, from me, not that pacifist propaganda you were brought up with. I am the Angel of Wrath, sent here to punish evil in the world so that righteousness could prevail. I found a detective named Jim Corrigan who shared my vision, and in his body, I made the people of this world terrified of even thinking of evil. But then he was offed off, and I was forced to wonder as a spirit, seeing my pedestal taken by new champions of morality – a team of love-and-forgiveness charlatans with the audacity to call themselves the Justice League. I've since been searching for a new host; a person of strong righteous standings yet also realizes that evil will prosper until its doers are removed.

"Today, I believe I have found the perfect candidate – you. Not only do you thirst for righteousness, but you have a most exquisite nature. What better host for divine wrath than then the spawn of a demon?"

Raven closed her eyes rightly in anger as tears of black magic cried up from her eyelids, and the pools of black magic that she had been massaging Beast Boy's mind with enlarged and rotated faster.

"I am not a demon!" she shouted.

"Of course not. But you have the heart of an angel, and a divine will to see right triumph over wrong. If acting like a demon will get the job done, then so be it. Nowhere was that better demonstrated than what you did just now."

"That was a mistake," Raven confessed. "I didn't have to do that. I just … he hurt Beast Boy … and …"

"And what? Go on, say it!"

"I got angry…"

"And?"

"I wanted revenge!"

"Very good. And know thanks to your vengeance, he won't be able to hurt your friend or anyone else's friends ever again. You're a smart girl, so what could you possibly see wrong about that?"

Raven exhaled and regained her composure. "It's not our duty to impose our will on the world. We are meant to deliver the perpetrators of evil to justice, and serve as an inspiration for what is good."

The Spectre smirked. "Spoken like a true disciple of the Bat. It's so easy to see why you like to dress up like him and play hero with your friends. But, you're on the verge of adulthood, and soon your dark mind will finally be enlightened. You'll see that you're nobody's hero. And when that times comes, I'll be there to help you finally grow up."

The aspiration then vanished in the same manner he had appeared. Raven closed her eyes and began whispering her chant again, cleansing her mind of the poison she had just heard.

Then a door opened from across the room. Th bright light turned off to reveal Cyborg.

"Is he OK?" he desperately asked while walking in.

"I think he should be fine. That damned toxin tore his mind apart; I've been struggling to put it back together."

"Do you think you could make his mind a little smarter? I mean, I love BB and all, but I think we can both agree that his stupidity does tend to get in the way."

Raven seriously pondered if she could. If she could stitch his mind back together, why not improve it? Why not make him smarter, and funny? Why not make him more charming, more cultured, more sophisticated? Why not make him into the type of man every woman dreamed of; the type that her feminine side could truly fall for?

And then she began to think about how should we react to such a transformation – and came out of her trance with rosy blushed cheeks.

"I can't do that!" she protested. "Beast Boy has his faults, but he's our friend, and I would never go tampering with my friend's mind. Just like how I wouldn't go tampering with other people's contraptions!"

She and Cyborg turned to face Wonder Girl, who was inspecting the device they were under. It appeared to be a giant desk lamp, except the bottom was a battery powered by some sort of Azarathian technology.

"This is quite an astounding feat you did here," she praised. "A near-perfect replica of Queen Hippolyta's Purple Ray, the device that made me a true Amazon and turned my father immortal, sitting in the lowest basement of the Titans Tower."

Wonder Girl then walked up to Raven and held out her hand for a proper introduction.

"Nice to finally meet, Wonder Girl. I really…"

"Admire my mother. I know, I get that a lot."

"No, I actually admire you."

"Oh?"

"Yes. The monks of Azarath did everything to counter my father's evil influence, but their most effective was making me watch Batman and, to a lesser extent, Robin. I watched his mind like a television, feeling his emotions, knowing what is was to be good fighting against evil. And though you only fought together that one time, you…"

"Wait that one time when we…"

"Yes, and I assure you, it was as weird for him as it was for you."

The two girls blushed at each other.

"But anyways, I admired your strength and courage but especially, your perseverance!"

"Oh, thanks. It's true, an Amazon has never given up, until…"

Wonder Girl turned away and buried her face n her hands.

"It's OK. I know what he did to you."

Wonder Girl angrily pounded the wall with a closed fist.

"That bastard! He made me give up! An Amazon never gives up!"

"Well, that's nothing compared to what he did to Beast Boy. He saw everyone he ever cared about, and they all rejected him, humiliated him, mocked him, told them that he worthless to them. Made him feel like … like …"

Raven paused to wipe a tear from her eyes.

"Like I did!"

Wonder Girl walked up to her and spoke with concern. "Starfire said that you never liked yourself for who are, but she and him and the rest of you did."

"Yes. For the first time, I wasn't treated like evil, and I had a purpose to exist. But the first time after we nearly died, I was afraid that if I lost even one of my friends, I couldn't live anymore. So, I recalled my memory of the Purple Ray and built my own version. I linked it with a spell I cast on my friends so that if they ever died, they could have resurrected her in perfect health."

"And boy did this baby come in handy," chimed in Cyborg, "when Terra betrayed us. She killed us, but then we all awoke down here, alive and angry, ready to shed blood for the first time. Thankfully, we never did, but I don't think any of us have really been the same ever since."

Right then, Beast Boy's right eye started twitching and he slowly woke up conscious. Raven stopped her mind massage and helped him sit up straight while Cyborg looked straight into his eyes.

"Beast Boy, do you hear me? Repeat after me – Tofu is terrible! Soy milk tastes like vomit! Acoustic guitar solos are a curse upon this world!"

Beast Boy started to stammer.

"Soy … soy … soy is the GREATEST THING GOD EVER PLACED ON THIS WONDERFUL GREEN EARTH!" he shouted while jumping into a victory pose. Then he quickly noticed Wonder Girl.

"Whoa, Wonder Girl! Hey there, babe!" he said happily while kneeling down, taking her hand and kissing it. "at your service, my lady!" he said in a mock British accent.

"Is this normal for him?" a confused Wonder Girl asked Cyborg.

"Oh yeah, he's fine!" answered Cyborg, and then the two best buds hugged each other in excitement.

"So, man, how do you feel!"

"I feel great! In fact, I feel like I got the heart of a lion!"

Beast Boy then tried to shapeshift into a lion, but instead turned into a manticore. He turned back to his humanoid form and tried again, but this time turned into a winged sphinx. A third time saw him change into a newly hatched griffon.

"OK, this is weird! What's going on?" he asked.

"Well, the Purple Ray's healing effects can be unpredictable," explained Wonder Girl. "It's possible that in healing your mind, it also infused your genetic structure with magic so that you can only change into magical creatures."

Beast Boy tested this out with several more shape shifts – a centaur, a minotaur, a Fenris wolf, a cyclops, a scorpion man, and a troll – and turned to look at Raven.

"So, you did this to me?"

"I'm sorry, Beast Boy, I was just trying …"

Beast Boy then hugged Raven with excitement, thanking her for the best thing that had ever happened to him since joining the Titans. He and Cyborg then left to test his new powers out on patrol, while Raven could only stand shocked and blushed.

"Well, we should probably get going now, too" advised Wonder Girl. "Robin should be finishing up with Commissioner Slack about now, and I'm supposed to be receiving a call from my father about the Tamaraneans."


	13. Whodunnit?

"Woohoo! Now that was a blast!" Gamesmaster shouted as he triumphantly leapt out from the relaxation room's mirror and dumped a handful of bootleg children's toys into the pile of his new international collection of crappy knock-offs.

Gamesmaster took the dark green pistol-like device from his coat and gave it an explosive kiss. "Mirror Master's very own Mirror Gun – one of a set of 20! And they're all ours to use as we please! Great heist work, Kyd Wykkyd!"

The young mute gave no response, giving his full attention to the V-Crate shooting game he was enamored with, which he felt was a worthy reward for his time in Central City.

Redd X was not nearly as impressed, sitting on the couch with his arms crossed in a rather angry fashion. "So then, about my pay…"

"Pay? Why would you need to get paid now?"

"Because we've done exactly as you planned. I aided in transportation to and from the fashion show. We humiliated the Titans while delivering a colossal blow to them."

"Ah yes, we did, but they are all still standing! I firmly believe that you don't punch anyone unless you intend to keep punching until they can't get off the ground! So just relax for now, my friend! The fight will continue, and it will definitely be worth it!"

/

Robin entered the Jump City Police Department and was shown straight to the office of Commissioner Slack. After sorting out the usual damage repairs, the duo entered the high-security section of the complex. First, Slack led him to Scarecrow's cell.

"The CSI team investigated found him wrapped up in a black cocoon that they described as feeling like a cross between cardboard and mossy tree bark. When they got Scarecrow out, his body was shaking, his eyes were wide open and unmoving, and he smiled in a way that made his face more dreadful than his mask. He was mumbling something about darkness, and since his imprisonment he has repeatedly muttered lines from the works of Poe, Lovecraft, and Seuss. He also third degree burn marks from his mouth down to his genitals, with the highest concentration around those areas."

Robin peered in through a glass window into Scarecrow's cell, a rather boring abode containing only a bed, a rocking chair, and a bathroom area complete with toilet, sink and mirror. Scarecrow was in a straightjacket, rocking himself in the chair with the same expression the Commissioner had just described, while occasionally stopping his literature recitations to say:

"Darkness … darkness … so beautiful!"

"Our doctors say that it's the same condition Dr. Light had when he was first brought here, but much more severe, and they don't see any signs of recovery. I've already contacted Arkham, and they said we could keep him."

"And you said there was a report on Dr. Light?"

"Yes, Gotham City Police found him dead hours ago inside an abandoned fire station. The autopsy is still underway, but he appears to have died from drug overdose, no doubt the pure form of the toxin."

"And you've made sure that Scarecrow won't be able to escape?"

" they had difficulty in matching Scarecrow's face to the photo records of Jonathan Crane. Of course, it could be the burn marks, but..."

"That man isn't Dr. Jonathan Crane."

"What?"

"His voice wasn't only different, but it sounded way too young to be him, and his face, though burned, is clearly of someone closer to my age than his."

"Then, who is this?"

"A successor - but he behaved way too much like Dr. Crane to just be that. He had to have been personally mentored by him."

 _Makes sense,_ robin thought to himself. _With all the heroes taking in young mentors, what was there to stop villains from doing the same? There could be a new version of every rogue of every hero out there just waiting to pop up. And the Titans will have to deal with them. In that case, I'll have to report Richard Grayson as legally dead, and Kory Anders as ... well, I can't make Starfire do that, but she'll have to._

Next the pair went to the crime lab, where Slack reviewed the analysis of the fear toxin and Cheshire's blade.

"The blade that cut Starfire managed to do so because the edges had been lined with the tips of diamonds, thus giving enough force, it could scratch through anything. Most of the fear toxin was in line with Scarecrow's usual batch, but the type on the blade had been modified so that it would affect Starfire's alien physiology, and the poison from the dart gun were meant for Beast Boy and altered to be ten times its normal strength."

"So, cutting diamond edges, fusing them onto blades, and modifying poison for non-human targets … how can this technology even exist?"

"It doesn't. Or at least it shouldn't. On this world, anyway. And not legally."

Then the Commissioner handed Robin a bound leather black journal. "We found this on Scarecrow's person. It seems to be a record of everyone he's done business dealings with in the past two years. Look on the page that's been bunny-eared."

Robin did so and had a revelation about who their most potential target should be. He thanked the Commissioner for his time and left calmly but in a hurry.

/

"Mr. Luthor, your 3 o'clock appointment is here."

The villainous billionaire looked away from a hologram report of his company's stocks to check the hologram showing his weekly schedule.

"I don't have anyone jotted down for today, Mercy."

"Sir, please look outside."

Lex turned around to see Supergirl hovering outside his window, arms crossed and her face all serious, much like the original wretched alien. To her right side was Raven, hiding behind her cloak, and to her left was Starfire, hands clasped behind her back.

Lex smiled, then pressed a button on his desk that slowly opened the window in between them. He turned around to turn off the hologram screens showcasing business data and engineering blueprints, and then turned back around to face the three-angry flying young women in his office.

"Ah, Supergirl, what a lovely surprise! And it seems you've finally made some friends! Let me guess – long lost prostitute cousin and the latest freak from Gotham?"

Starfire and Raven both replied with a very straight "No", making it clear in their voices that they were already agitated by his smugness.

"Lex, these are…"

"Lex? I'm sorry, but there's nobody hear who goes by that name."

"Lex, would you please…"

"Now, now, let's make sure we address each other properly, before we're sentenced to another month with a shrink!"

Supergirl gulped as she held back her anger. "Mr. Luthor…"

"Yes?!" Lex responded as obnoxiously as possible.

"Mr. Luthor, these are Starfire and Raven of the Teen Titans from Jump City."

"Teen Titans? Jump City? Never heard of either of you."

"They recently thwarted a terror attack there by the Scarecrow. His fear gas had been modified for alien and mutant targets."

"Oh, so your friends here are aliens, then? Well, that's just what this world needs, more space apes on steroids to be idolized as false gods."

Starfire then stepped in front of Supergirl and stared Luthor in the eye while her own eyes were glowing green with rage.

"You are truly the son of a kole-bore-dingzang-hapnor! You despise the nicest people just because they are not from your world! You talk down heroes and yet have never saved anyone! You call yourself the greatest man of all time, but you are just a big greedy pussy who only loves you!"

"True, and you're dressed like something a 13-year-old boy would masturbate at, so what's your point?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I did not realize it was wrong to help young stressed gorfkins to feel happy!"

Luthor tried to regain his smug smile under a look of obvious confusion, and Raven spoke up by bringing Scarecrow's journal out from under her cloak. "Mr. Luthor, according to Dr. Crane's records, the two of you were to discuss a collaboration about a year ago."

"Yes, that's true," he admitted without a slight of guilt. "Dr. Crane's special poison had always caught my attention, and with the League off-planet, it was the perfect scenario for two great intellects to put our heads together!"

"And what exactly was your plan?" demanded Supergirl.

"Would you like to see it?" asked Luthor after he pulled a small remote from his inner suit pocket.

/

Comissioner Slack was about to leave when he was told that they had found a genetic math for Scarecrow II.

A young boy with behavioral issues who was bounced around foster homes before vanishing eight years ago. His name was Sebastien.


	14. False Leads

"Cyborg! Are you using up all our bandwidth! I already checked with Beast Boy and it isn't him, so it must be…"

Robin barged into Cyborg's room and was quickly taken aback by what he saw. His friend was in a VR suit with massive wires hooked up to a computer, which was also set up to a portable chemical pack for oxytocin, serotonin, and other biochemicals. Despite making no physical movements, he still managed to make appropriate sex sounds while the chemical levels were properly adjusted for the proper sexual experience. Cyborg also mentioned the name "Bumblebee" and several pet names for her, which was fitting as her voice could be heard on the headset making similar sex sounds.

Robin slowly closed the door, deciding to let his friend finish.

Eventually, Robin managed to set up a video chat with an old friend.

"Hey, Babs. How's life treating you?"

"All things considered, pretty good. Saw your picture in the news with that new suit, all tight and showing off your manliness. I'm sure you get plenty of fan mail from the ladies."

"I sure do. I keep waiting for yours."

"Well, keep dreaming."

"Well, I'm sure you'd prefer my fiancée anyway."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh, I just thought you might have a thing for Starfire, since you know for sure that you're bisexual, and you have a poster of her modeling in a bikini posted over your bed in the same manner that a 12-year-old boy would…"

Oracle's screen suddenly went back, and turned back on 30 seconds later. The poster in question was no gone and Oracle's face was flushed red.

"Sorry, dropped the call for a sec. Now, what thing were we talking about that isn't there?"

"What do you think of Starfire?"

"She's fine! Just fine! We've only met a few times, but she's fine! You're a lucky man! What are you calling for?"

"I'm calling to ask about Slade."

"Slade? Well, I'm pretty sure I told you about his stint with Cadmus scientists that I helped to break up."

"Yes, because you were on the team of scientists."

"Oh, I see Cyborg didn't keep his promise."

"What do you remember from that?

"Nothing. Our memories were all wiped; that I didn't ask him to lie about."

"That was about six months ago, right?"

"Yes, correct."

"And you're six months pregnant, right?"

"Yes, and ,,, wait, are you suggesting..."

"Barb, I need to know exactly what he did to you. And if it was ... that ... I swear I'll make him pay!"

Oracle sighed. "This is why I asked Cyborg to lie: you still care enough about me to worry. I can assure you, aI know who the father is, and it most definitely isn't Slade! Now can we please change the topic?"

"Sure. Wonder Girl says you've been employed by LexCorp as a data analyst, right?"

"Yup. Youngest senior data manager in the company!"

"Do they have any type of work in Dakota City?"

"Nope, and none in Jump City, or any place else Slade has been."

"OK, I just thought that Slade might be in cahoots with Luthor over the latest terror attack."

"I can see why. Slade still has it out for you, and only LexCorp is capable of maintaining such technology. But why would he have any reason to attack my team? Also, why would Scarecrow carry a journal of business dealings with him during an attack, with the page mentioning Luthor marked?"

"I would say to frame Luthor, but it seems like a pretty obvious deception. Anyone smart enough to pull off all this couldn't slip up like that."

"I know, but…" Robin slouched back in his chair and sighed. "What's a good detective to do?"

"Wait for the next clue. Well, at least let me do that. You have a wedding to prepare for."

Robin and Oracle smiled and stared each other for a long awkward pause, and then hastily said their good-byes.

/

Lex Luthor's desk and the floor around it had turned into the bottom part of the elevator, transporting him and is three female guests around LexCorp Metropolis Headquarters. They arrived in the pharmaceutical division, where Luthor led them past numerous video presentations of test subjects while narrating his objectives.

"Dr. Crane's chemical is truly phenomenal. It instantly heads straight for the region of the brain known as the amygdala, and amplifies the individuals greatest fear into observatory and auditory illusions. By studying its effects on numerous willing test subjects, my company has gained revolutionary data about exactly how the brain processes fear, all the way down to the biochemical interactions. In fact, my team in charge is being considered for a Nobel Prize in Medicine."

"Well, that would imply that have cured something, first", mocked Raven.

"Oh, but they have. My scientists have taken this data and produced drugs that inhibit reactions in the amygdala that cause a person to undergo anxiety, phobia, or PTSD. Thus, turning a mental state of fear into one merely of surprise."

"So then, you have made a medicine that makes people not be afraid?" asked Starfire.

"Oh no, all test subjects still experience fear, but they still remain in complete control of their minds. I haven't invented a cure for fear, but instant courage in pill form!"

"And Scarecrow was OK with this?" asked Supergirl.

"He had to be dragged out of my office kicking and screaming and carried out on a stretcher bound and gagged. He didn't like that I had forsaken our deal of ridding the world of the League."

"It seems that you kept that deal after all," concluded Raven.

The other three looked in shock at Raven, who herself was in shock at the videos showing before and after results, as well as footage of Scarecrow being dragged out of the LexCorp HQ. She could hardly believe that such a monster would turn benevolent, but she knew why.

"You said many times that you could lead mankind forward if Superman wasn't in your way. And now that he's off-planet with the League, you're proving your point. Whenever Supergirl apprehended a major supervillain – Vandal Savage, Ra's Al-Ghul, Count Vertigo – you would brag for weeks about how your technology played a roll. You upgraded security in Gotham and Central, and both cities praised you for finally keeping their loons locked up. And now, you have courage pills, making everyone brave enough that nobody will ever cry out for a hero again. You're hoping that by the time the League returns, they'll come back to a world that doesn't need them."

Luthor congratulated her with a soft clap. "Very good! But you left out the best part – this new world the League will return to is exactly the world they've always wanted – and they'll have to thank ME for it!" Then he smiled evilly.

"But why now?" asked a confused Starfire. "If you could be a good person, why not do it before?"

"Because now, there isn't an overbearing alien to steal my spotlight!"

Starfire's eyes opened with even greater shock. "How can someone do so much good for such petty selfish reasons?" she thought.

"Well, this is all wonderful, Luthor" admitted Starfire, pointing to a deep scar on her right arm just passed her shoulder, "but you are still the only one who could have made this happen!"

"Ah, but there are some problems with this. First, I had no idea you even existed until today. Second, just because I have the resources to create something doesn't mean I'll make it. And third, even if I did know about you and had the technology you speak of, what reason would I have to attack you?"

"Because … I am an alien?"

"Yes, an alien that poses no threat to me! I might be a xenophobe, but I'm a rational xenophobe, and as long as you stay out of my way, you'll be exempt from my bigotry!"

"And how do we know you're telling the truth?" demanded Supergirl.

"I can answer that," revealed Raven, "but only if he'll let me."

"I consent!" replied Luthor. "And as a bonus, I'll let you surf through my entire company's archives. If you can find one instance of anything illegal, you can take me away!"

So, the elevator took them to the computer lab housing the LexCorp archives. While Supergirl quickly browsed through the database with her superspeed, Starfire held Luthor still while Raven went deep inside Luthor's mind. Despite it being nothing but muddled swamp of self-love, greed, and rage towards heroes, she could not find a single drop of empathy within him. Nor could she say that he was dishonest.

With Luthor cleared of all suspicions, the girls begrudgingly bid him farewell. Ten minutes later, they were drinking smoothies on the roof of the Daily Planet building.

"So, that's Lex Luthor?" summed up Starfire. "To think someone of that character and that hatred was almost the leader of this country. X'Hal knows what he'll think of my people."

Supergirl stopped slurping on her straw. "Just do what he says. Rao, I feel dirty just saying that! But he's right - stay out of his way and he'll stay out of yours."

Then Starfire noticed that Earth's Champion was beginning to look sad. She leaned forward to see the Kryptonian looking at two photos on her wristband - one of her as a child on Krypton, and one with her and Batgirl back when they were friends.

"Do that, and you can just forget about him! Think about your people who are happy to have a home. Think about your true love embracing you every night. I'll never be able to, so let me deal with the haters."

The two young heroines embraced in a comforting hug, and they were soon joined by Raven. A sudden calm quickly swept over Starfire. Everything that the other girls had told her about Supergirl - her gentle strength, her kindness, her hopeful inspiration - she could feel them all flow into her.

"Is Luthor's dream possible?" she asked. "A world without heroes?"

"No," assured Supergirl. "The world will always need heroes. Whether it's a city about to be hit by a meteor, or a lonely kid who needs to be convinced that life is worth living, the world will always need heroes."

The three big their goodbyes, and Starfire and Raven returned to Jump City. Once they had left the horizon, Supergirl's super-hearing picked up a breaking news report: the Tamaranean refugee fleet had just crossed through the Asteroid Belt and was on its way towards Earth.


	15. Phase 2 of our Sinister Plan

See-More spent a whole day watching Scarecrow's cell from the Mirror Dimension, waiting for the opportune moment for Intergang to make their next move. Upon his signal, Gizmo fired a device at the security camera that caused its imagery to freeze. Then he entered the cell through the mirror above the sink and scanned Scarecrow's repetitive rocking motions, and then lifted Scarecrow out of his chair with his robotic spider limbs. Then using another device confiscated from Mirror Master, he set up an illusion of Scarecrow in his chair, repeatedly rocking while making the same repetitive chants. Then Gizmo carried Scarecrow through the mirror and back to Intergang headquarters.

After Gizmo laid him down on the living room couch, Psimon pressed his exposed brain against Scarecrow's forehead, causing the mad doctor to relax and stop chanting. Psimon's brain glowed with a black radiance akin to that of Raven's powers, and he stood up straight once his whole brain had turned black. He walked to the living room mirror and fired a Mirror Gun at it, the ray from the gun taking on the form of silent black lightning.

"What the hell is this?" asked Red X.

"Well, we know from the notes left by Terra that the Titan Raven has a mirror that links straight into her mind," explained Gamesmaster. "And Raven's little freak-out left a good bit of her black magic embedded in his brain. Now Psimon has just sampled that magic and is surfing the Mirror Dimension to find Raven's mind-mirror!"

"OK, and then what?"

"Then, we take our new friend Scarecrow and fulfill his lifelong wish of becoming the god of fear. He'll go into her mind and rust away her emotions, breaking her psyche and turning her into absolute terror!"

"Um, that doesn't sound anything like…"

The mirror gave a faint sonic boom and Psimon gave a thumb up, indicating that they were ready. Gamesmaster tried to lift Scarecrow and told him to, "Enter the mirror and follow his dream!", but Scarecrow just fell backward and went back to his chanting. Gamesmaster tried tis several more times, only for Scarecrow to keep falling backwards like a lifeless doll.

This was interrupted with a great wind and bright light entered the room, and everyone present turned to see a Boom Tube open. Through it entered the female Red Lantern from before, making her first appearance to most of her earthly underlings.

"You're early," said Gamesmaster rather annoyingly.

"There's been a change of plans," the Red Lantern replied as the Boom Tube closed behind her.

"Well, before we get to that, you'll be happy to know we're ready to begin the preparation of the Anti-Life Equation!"

"The what?" asked Red X.

"All we need is to get your boyfriend to respond and…"

"Boyfriend?"

"Please shut up! I'm trying to…"

The red Lantern pushed Gamesmaster away and straddled herself over Scarecrow's waist. She curled his hands behind his head and jolted his upper bod upwards to be in line with hers, and quickly locked her lips with his in lust. The mad doctor's eyes returned to consciousness as his arms began writhing in pain. The Red Lantern released him, and he screamed to the ceiling in agony as red plasma dripped out of his mouth while burning away his flesh. As Scarecrow's wailing stopped, the plasma inside his mouth began to dissolve away, repairing torn tissue to leave only burn marks behind.

"Remember me, darling? All those wonderful nightmares we had together?"

Her red-light mask began to peel away, revealing her face, neck, and top of her breasts, showing very clearly scars and bruises made from multiple night terrors. Scarecrow recognized his work and gave a faint smile at his "lover".

"Remember what you said your dream was?"

"To … to become fear!"

"Yes, you've been trying to bring a city under fear. But while settle for a mere city when you can…"

"Make the whole universe terrified?!"

"Yes, that's right. And do you remember who can make that happen?"

"D-Darkseid!"

"Yes, and only Darkseid! To fulfill your dream, you must become the fear of Darkseid, the terror of Darkseid – the Anti-Life Equation!"

"Yes, I remember now!" Scarecrow calmly pushed the Red Lantern aside and got on his feet, walking towards the mirror portal in front of him.

"I was a fool to believe that I was fear incarnate. Now I see that there is already a being truly worthy of that cause. But she has denied herself her rightful place in this world, in the universe. If I cannot become fear, then the least I can do is lead fear to her rightful place – into the palm of Darkseid's hand!"

As Scarecrow approached the mirror, black magic began to envelope him, giving him a new set of clothes and a scythe made entirely from sorcery. After passing through the mirror, the black magic disappeared from Psimon, and the mirror fell to the floor and shattered.

"OK, what is going on?" demanded Red X.

"I'm sorry, who gave you permission to speak", the Red Lantern asked, flying up and crossing her arms, her red-light armor covering herself up as before.

"I'm Red X. What are you supposed to be?"

The Red Lantern blew him against the wall with a blast from her ring, then flew straight down to him to look him in the face.

"I am commander of the Red Lanterns, emissary to Apokolips, and personal envoy to Earth for Lord Darkseid, so don't you talk back to me again, you miserable worm!"

Red X stammered as he struggled to stand back up. "Wait … Lantern … Darkseid … that's who the League left to … are we helping an alien invasion?"

"Of course!" bragged Gamesmaster. "Where do you think we got that super-supercomputer or our awesome new armor maker! Just imagine how humiliating it will be when the Titans not only lose a member to turning into pure evil, but lose to the Earth to aliens! They're gonna have so much explaining to do when the League gets back!"

"What? That's going way too far! This isn't what I signed up for!"

Red X was then startled as red-light projections of javelins penetrated the wall around him. He turned to face the Red Lantern, ring glowing with more weaponized constructs ready to attack.

"For your involvement with Intergang, you shall be exempt from Darkseid's slave pens. If you value your life and your freedom, you will be offering your services without question. Is that clear?"

"This is some deep shit!" Red X thought to himself. "The world's gonna be taken over by this psycho and her space army, and nobody would have suspected that a bunch of D-list villains made it possible! I must get word to the Titans … but not now. I have to play along; stick around until I learn exactly what it is they're gonna do."

"Yes, as you wish, mistress," Red X said with rather good acting skills. "Please forgive my actions. I pledge my full allegiance to you from now on."

The Red Lantern bought it and erased her projections from the air. She turned back to Gamesmaster.

"Now, as I was saying, there has been a change of plans."

"Hey, you guys are gonna wanna come see this," shouted See-More from the TV room. "They're about to show Starfire's people landing on the moon."

The Red Lantern turned towards the TV room with intense curiosity. "Who is landing where?" she demanded to know.


	16. The Moon is a Loving Mistress

"Raven, are you feeling OK?"

Beast Boy immediately knew something was wrong when Raven didn't reply. She remained scrunched forward with her fingers clawing at her forehead, her eyes forced shut and faintly growling in pain. Robin and Cyborg both started to act, but Beast Boy ordered nobody to move as he morphed into a young phoenix and flew straight to the kitchen. He quickly made a batch of Raven's herbal tea and quickly flew back to the coach. After taking one whiff of the tea, Raven to the cup from Beast Boy and quickly started to drink it, and then she was sitting up straight with her usual poised self.

"Thank you, Beast Boy."

"No problem, sister!" he responded while slouching with his hands behind his back. "So, was that just a bad headache right now?"

"Yeah, I guess," she responded, rubbing her right temple. "But it's gone now. Probably just a quick fever." Then she started to drink her tea again.

"OK, Titans, time to suit up!" ordered Robin. "These new space suits have their own built-in artificial gravity units, meaning that we will walk on the moon the same way as Earth. Cyborg, how's your link to the Daily Planet?"

"I have Miss Lane on stand-by," he answered. "The whole world is gonna be glad that Starfire's people are going to be living right next door to us!"

Starfire herself didn't need a suit, so she was fitting one made especially for Silkie. Somehow, he looked even cuter than before, and Starfire joyfully hugged him.

After everyone was properly suited up, they got into the T-Ship and launched straight for the Moon. They could see the newly found colony only a few minutes later, and Starfire had finally lost all her patience. She opened the glass dome above her seat and made a beeline for her people but was stopped when she heard her Communicator vibrate. She picked up to answer, but couldn't hear anything.

"Star! Star! Why aren't you saying anything!" demanded Robin.

"Because sound can't travel through space," explained Beast Boy.

"Yeah, that's a basic scientific fact that even Garfield knows," said Raven.

"Yeah, that's right, I … hey, what'd we say about that?" said Beast Boy back.

"Hey, be happy you were smart, for once, Garfield!" mocked Cyborg.

While the two continued a brief shouting match, Raven was disappointed that neither could see her smirk.

Starfire, dismayed that she couldn't hear anything, turned around to look back at her friends, and saw that Silkie had also left her seat, and was now happily spinning through space. Starfire immediately flew to him and carried him to Robin's seat, and demanded he open. He did so, without realizing that his space helmet wasn't on. After briefly filling the air sucked out of his lungs and intense freezing penetrate his skin, his glass dome shut again, and he inhaled in relief to see Silkie lying on his lap.

As Lois Lane began her live report of this historic event, with live video feed coming straight from Cyborg's robot eye, Starfire approached the survivors of her race. There thousands of ships scattered across the moon's surface, with the thickest concentration being around the spot of the Apollo 11 landing site, where the Tamaraneans were taking extra precautions to sealing off the area, knowing that everything left by the humans, even the footprints, were precious to their species, and it was their way of showing that they respected their neighbors.

With most of the refugees still in their ships, there were those outside, taking measurements for future constructing and terraforming. But they all stopped to look up when they saw their long-lost Crown Princess hovering above them. She took great relief in seeing the last of her people, but there was one individual that she noticed – a young male Tamaranean of perfect physical health and short hair combed to go passed his ears, colored in the exact same shade of red as hers.

The two of them looked at each other, and then quickly flew towards each other, embracing each other while shedding tears of joy that quickly formed into a myriad of spheres.

While Cyborg was hovering just barely over the moon's dusty surface, he stopped to hear for Starfire's advice on where to land, only to get a good recording of the reunion for all the world to see.

The male Tamaranean noticed the T-Ship and began conversing with Starfire in their native tongue.

"Wait a second; if sound can't travel through space, how are they talking?" asked Robin.

"Space doesn't stop them from dying, so why should it stop them from talking?" theorized Beast Boy.

"And another smart point for Garfield," joked Raven.

Starfire and the male were still conversing, and she said something with a very sly look on her face. The male looked back with a look of shock and terror, and Starfire responded by puffing up her lips in a kissing motion. The male quickly broke free from her grasp, and Starfire chased him in multiple orbits around the moon. It ended with Starfire pinning the male to the ground, creating a massive crater right next to the T-Ship. Cyborg decided to land right where they were.

The other Titans got out of the ship and hurried to the edge of the crater, where they were soon joined by other Tamaraneans. At the impact point, Starfire had the male pinned to the ground, he was shaking in fear as Starfire stared at him with an evil grin. She puffed her lips again, and slowly lowered her head until she was smooching the male, who began writing his arms and legs in frustration.

Robin was shocked at this, with his mind clouded by instant fears of betrayal and jealousy.

"Just calm down," advised Raven.

"Yeah, you're right," admitted Robin. "Her culture is one that allows people to have multiple lovers, and I need to respect that."

"That's her brother, Wildfire."

Robin's jaw dropped so low it fell through his helmet. He would have frozen solid had Cyborg not closed his mouth and activated a second helmet covering the first.

"How do you know that?"

"She told me about him, and I assume she told you to. Besides that's how any brother would act if they had to kiss his sister."

"But why would they have to…" And then Robin remembered that Tamaraneans learn languages instantly via lip contact. Starfire was simply allowing her brother to communicate with her friends.

"Wow, that's three times in a row you've been bad at thinking!" gloated Beast Boy.

"Shut up, Garfield!"

Starfire finally released her brother from her grip, who got up and began vehemently wiping his lips dry like a first grader trying to get rid of girl germs. After exchanging a few more lines in their native tongue, they quickly made up and hugged, and then flew out of the crater with their arms behind the other's shoulders. After Wildfire shouted something in his language, he held up his sister's hand triumphantly in his own, and all the other Tamaraneans shouted in celebration. Starfire then spoke to her people, and continued to speak as she motioned to the other Titans, then flew down and spoke another sentence in Tamaranean.

None of the other Titans could hear a word they were saying, but Robin could see that Starfire had spoken the words, "Group hug!", since she had said it so many times he'd had her lip movements memorized for it. These same mouth movements were repeated by the other Tamaraneans, whom quickly surrounded the Titans seemingly and crushed them in a massive display of affection.

At the Daily Planet Channel HQ, the live feed was suddenly cut, and Lois Lane had only one comment:

"Well, it seems that our new neighbors have welcome our emissaries with a rather warm embrace. Back to you, Vicky."


	17. Queendom Come

"Starfire, I know that you and your brother have a lot to catch up on, but you know that I can only take hugging for so long, and if any of these kids try to kiss me, I will give them nightmares." Raven said this with a very stern black glow from her eyes, not at all happy with the eight children embracing her out of joy.

"Uh, okay, little grimgorbs! Our new friends have had enough hugs for today! Now run along and play Kill the Gorblesack!"

The children obeyed, leaving Titans alone with Wildfire in the vessel that he had landed on the Moon

"Is there anything I can get for my sweet sister's friends?" asked Wildfire earnestly. "Perhaps you would like to try some of our native food, or would like a drink of tritium water?"

"I was wondering if you would have some facial cleanser," asked Robin, pointing to the numerous red lip marks that now covered his face. "And also, some anti-love potion for those two?"

He pointed at Cyborg and Beast Boy, who were slouching against the wall with pink valentine hearts beating from their eyes and the most ridiculous smiles one could come up with.

"Facial cleanse I can give you," responded Wildfire, bringing out an alien Kleenex from a nearby box, "but it is the law of Tamaran that we show absolute love for our friends!"

"Well, on Earth, we have a strict don't-touch-unless-I-so rule, so try not to get in too much trouble when you go down there."

"Very well. If that is your custom, then we shall respect it!"

Starfire and Wildfire continued to exchange stories about how the adventures they had both had since they had last seen each other. Starfire told about her capture, her rescue by the Titans, the friendships she had forged and the villains they had stopped, and her run-ins with Blackfire.

"That wicked bitch!" said Wildfire, his smile disappearing for the first time. "All we ever did was love her, and all she wanted to do was hurt us! She was a disgrace to our people!"

But it wasn't any concern, as Starfire explained how Blackfire had been banished. Throughout their conversations, the other Tamaraneans had try to show their hospitality by offering the Titans numerous samples of their native delicacies. Being told by Starfire it was rude to refuse a Tamaranean meal, they continuously ate and ate, even when clearly being full, all to make a good first impression.

"Well, it's great to see that you've had fun!" shared Wildfire, with both his sister and her friends. "After our parents nobly died in battle and the Council of Okaara took over, I left Tamaran because I was tired of hearing about how the rest of the galaxy looked down on us as weaklings. That's completely absurd! Granted, there was a time when we were weaklings, when our people was enslaved by the Psions. One day, they had the brilliant idea of turning us all into living weapons to substitute as their battleships, but they gave us the strength to overthrow them. I decided to prove this misconception wrong by traveling the galaxy, saving helpless people wherever I could find them, just like Nightwing!"

"Nightwing?" asked a surprised Robin.

"Yes, Nightwing, the legendary, selfless, all-loving hero of old, whose tales are told to children across the galaxy to inspire them to be good! I wanted to be just like that! So, I found a group of adventurers and set out on our quest for justice. We called ourselves the Omega Men!"

"Omega Men? So, no girls?" asked Raven.

"Well, we didn't refuse any women to join, it's just that none offered to. But we were a big hit with the ladies!"

"Ah, wink-wink nudge-nudge!" mumbled Cyborg.

"Anyways, when I learned that Blackfire had taken over Tamaran, I tried to make it back to the planet, but when I returned, Galfore was ruling."

"Galfore, is he … here?" asked Starfire.

Wildfire sighed in despair. He walked over to a drawer and pulled out the Tamaranean Royal Crown, the same one that Starfire had passed on to Galfore.

"When the Red Lanterns attacked, there was one more vicious than all the others. It demolished the Royal Capitol, giving no mercy to anyone or anything in its path. Galfore tried to fight it head on, and I joined him to fight at his side. But right when Galfore was about to strike, the Red Lantern sliced through his body, cutting his neck, arms and legs from his torso. I watched helplessly as his body fell in pieces and then I looked up to see that Red Lantern staring at me. All it took was one glow from its ring to send me running away like a pathetic toddler."

As if Starfire needed another reason to cry, she started to, right in sync with her brother. The, as if there was some type of psychic connection, they grasped each other's hands, assuring each other that the man who had raised them was in a better place.

"I came across his head while escaping. His face was frozen in anger, and I couldn't help but think that he angry at me – for leaving our people to go on adventures, for abandoning our world to destruction, and for not avenging our honor!"

"You have no reason to hate yourself, Wildfire!" assured Starfire. "You did what you believed was best for Tamaran! You have shown the courage and strength of our people across worlds, and by the grace of X'Hal you rescued as many people as you could."

"Yes, but I'm not brave enough, or strong enough, to protect our people, or lead them. The best I can do is spiritual guidance, which I have done as the new High Priest of X'Hal. But you, Starfire, you are fit to rule!"

Then he extended the crown at to Starfire, who looked back with shock.

"Wildfire, I…"

"You were the middle child, but you were always the braves, and strongest, and wisest of us all. But more importantly, you were always full of love. There is nobody in this universe more loving than you, and nobody more fit to lead our New Tamaran than you."

"Um, well, that's going to be a problem," admitted Starfire. She stood up and walked over to Robin. She brought him up to stand up straight in front of her brother, and held hands to make it clear that their engagement rings were touching.

"Robin is more than just my friend. He is my grimgorf, and we are to be married on Blorthog."

Wildfire's smile returned, and he dropped the crown and passionately embraced his future brother-in-law. Robin gave no protest this time, as he knew that he and Starfire shared something that was not common among the Tamaranean royalty, and couldn't imagine how happy Wildfire must have been for his sister.

"Starfire, I'm so happy for you!"

"Yes, thank you brother!"

"In fact, I should mention now, I have found two grimgorfs!"

"What?" replied a shocked Starfire.

A few minutes later, and they were all conversing via video screen with a male and female Tamaranean, whom Wildfire explained were in a romantic triangle with him. They were in the Hatchery Ship, and Wildfire's significant others were standing over an egg in an incubator, which Wildfire happily proclaimed belonged to all three of them.

"Whoa, you guys lay eggs?" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"Yes, it is rather silly, isn't it?" giggled Starfire.

"So, wait, is this type of thing normal for these people?"

"Yes," explained Robin. "Every Tamaranean has a romantic relationship with three or four other Tamaraneans, and each of those is another romantic triangle, and so on. Ultimately, their whole species is connected in a massive web of romance."

"Yes," verified Wildfire, turning off the screen, "but it is a privilege granted only to the lower classes. The nobility must love and breed for the sake of leadership, often sacrificing our own romance for the betterment of our people. That my sister and I have found such love is truly a miracle."

"But brother, is it not against the law of Tamaran to marry outside of class?"

"The old Tamaran is dead. We need a New Tamaran, a different society that is based on the same principles, and the greatest of those principles is love. What better way would there be to show love with our neighbors than for our New Empress to share matrimony with one of their great champions?"

Starfire found that she couldn't argue with that. She took the crown from her brother's hand and looked at with uncertainty. Then she looked at her fiancé.

"Is there a place where we may speak in private?" he asked.

Soon, they had their wish, and were talking in a narrow closet.

"I don't know what to do, Robin!" Starfire confessed. "I want what is best for Tamaran, but I also want us to be together, to have the normal life, and…"

"Star, you need to lead your people."

"Wh-what? But Robin, what about our friends and our city, and the wedding and…"

"Being normal?" Robin comforted her by gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "I want nothing more than too, Star. I want to finally hang this costume up for good and just be a normal, everyday guy. But it's time to realize that there's nothing normal about us, nor about our lives. But one big difference is that we're becoming adults now, which needs that we need to take on responsibility, whether it be for situations that we have worked for or that have been thrust onto us. If you truly love your people, then you'll do what is best for them. And your friends will be right there beside you, as will I."

After thanking Robin with a long romantic kiss, Starfire approached her brother. She got down on her knees and bowed her upper body.

"Brother, if it is for the best of our people in this dark time, then I will accept my birthright and take up the throne of Tamaran."

After a brief period of nothing happening, Starfire looked up at her brother, who was dumbfounded as with what to do next.

"Oh, sorry, I was just under the impression that should be more, uh, grandiose or something! But given our state, fine! You are, um, hereby declared to be Empress Koriand'r of Tamaran!"

Then he slowly slid the Royal Crown onto Starfire's head. He was doing this at rather too slow a pace, as Beast Boy had to ask if it was supposed to take that long. This prompted Wildfire to hurry up, and he forcefully pushed the crown onto his sister's head, giving her a slight ouch.

"Well, that's it then! You're the ruler of our people now!"

"Yeah, I guess I am!"

"So then, what now?" asked Beast Boy.

"Yeah, do you, like, go out demand praise from your subjects, or something?" asked Cyborg.

"Yes, I believe we should!" responded Wildfire. "Please, come right behind me, Your Majesty!"

A minute later, and the other Titans were watching Starfire amongst the crowds of her people, all bowing and showing respects, while she was trying to act like in the stern, serious manner that she was told a queen should act as.

"So, Starfire's a Queen now, huh?" commented Beast Boy. "Does mean we're gonna have to start calling Robin King of the Moon, then?"

"Shut up, Garfield!"


	18. A Brief History of Superheroics by Lois Lane

A Brief History of Superheroics by Lois Lane 

The following is exerted from the notes gathered by the Daily Planet’s Lois Lane and her investigation into all figures dubbed as ‘superheroes’ by the media, both past and present. 

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Superman may be the greatest superhero of all, but the very first was undoubtedly Wonder Woman.  Daughter of Queen Hippolyta and war goddess Athena, she and the rest of her fellow Amazons appeared out of nowhere, along with their home island of Themyscera about halfway between the Mediterranean islands of Crete and Cyprus.  It seems they had been awoken in response to the re-emergence of Athena’s bloodthirsty brother Ares and his minions (thanks to Nazi occultist Vandal Savage).  Along with possessing powers of super-strength, super-speed, and flight, they all possessed unique powers.  For example, Wonder Woman had a healing touch and could harness lightning within her sword. 

On New Year’s Day 1942, the Amazons were discovered by accident by US Marine pilot Steven Trevor, who introduced them to man's world.  With Ares teaming up with the Axis, the Amazons joined the Allies, and helped bring about a swift end to World War II.  (What makes them even more inspirational is that our government was developing a new type of bomb – powerful enough to destroy an entire city – to scare the Axis into surrender.  Thank God such a bomb was never used.) 

However, the war brought massive casualties to all sides, and the Amazon losses included their beloved Queen Hippolyta.  Amidst the chaos and carnage of war, the surviving Amazons found romance on the battlefield.  They followed their true loves back to their homes, where they married and helped Western society become perfectly egalitarian by 1950. 

But Wonder Woman swore to never allow such devastation touch the world again.  Using a magical device called the Purple Ray, she made herself and Steve Trevor immortal, and after marrying they embarked on an eternal quest against evil and oppression. 

///////////////////////////// 

Over the next several decades, Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor remained the only superheroes of note, but many others came and went.  The Soviet Union made promises to succeed where the Axis Powers had failed, attracting many mad scientists to help develop weapons.  US and her allies did the same, putting the world into a Cold War. Along with new types of missiles, guns, and rays, mutants were also developed.  These included members of the Doom Patrol, as well as mentally-advanced gorillas that would later escape their creators and founded their own city in central Africa.

It was also during this time that appearances of The Spectre first appeared.  From the diary of a police detective named Jim Corrigan, it seems that a being claiming to be ‘the Angel of Wrath’ sought a human host to execute justice on a world overriding with crime.  For a while, that’s exactly what The Spectre did – brutally killing anyone who did heinous crimes.  This extended to politicians and generals, and he took no sides.  Eventually, the Cold War was brought to a quick end, with all countries wanting to appease the vengeful being.  Dictators, communist and otherwise, promised to turn their nations into democracies or at the very least turn benevolent. 

However, the Spectre was not without his critics.  These came in the form of religious speakers who claimed it to be ungodly to fight murder with murder.  The Spectre didn’t like this, and responded by brutally ending these pacifists. 

God did not approve, or at least so it seems.  According to Wonder Woman, she and her lover were approached by the archangel Zauriel, who granted them flaming heavenly weapons.  Using these, they fought the Spectre and destroyed his physical body, and his spirit was sentenced by God to wonder the Earth, searching for a new host that would never appear. 

As infamous as his legend may be, one cannot deny the good the Spectre had on world.  Along with spreading democracy, he brought an end to international conflict.  Thanks to newfound global cooperation, scientific progress greatly accelerated.  This finally culminated in 18 manned missions to the moon, which were sponsored by the US government but made possible by minds from all over the world.  It’s a pity that after that, scientists instead decided to focus on self-defense and entertainment. 

//////////////////////////////////////////////// 

Before I talk about Superman, I must first explain Lex Luthor.  As a young boy, he was fascinated by comics and story magazines that depicted mankind encountering alien life.  Then one fateful day, this became a reality, as astronomers had found evidence of life beyond Earth. 

That night, Luthor joined the nation as he watched his small family television showing this moment that would change history.  But what he saw turned his excitement into terror.  These images were of space aliens engaged in perpetual war, slaughtering entire fleets of ships and even a few planets.  When it was all over, the news announcer quipped, “Let’s just pray those things never come to us”. 

But that could very well happen, and Luthor refused to let humanity fall victim to a space war.  He spent the rest of his life to becoming the smartest, richest man alive – the perfect individual to lead humanity against the invaders when they came.  He built LexCorp initially as a weapons company in the Cold War, only doing business with the US government and her allies, before investing in other projects such as computer development and drug design. 

Luthor was never a fan of Wondie or any other superheroes.  He claimed that their abilities that were just given to them made a mockery of human ingenuity, which is based solely on acquired knowledge and hard work.   

But what Luthor really cares about is being a role model.  The worldwide peace that had lasted for decades was falling apart, and Luthor frequently bragged about setting the example that mankind was to follow.  This put him on odds with his competitors Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen, claiming that his company treatment of third world workers was no better than supervillains. 

So, when Superman did show up, it made sense for Luthor to hate him so much.  Not only is he an alien invader, and not only did he not have to work for his powers, but he has the nerve to be the role model that humanity needs.  A role model not based the strong reigning over the weak, but on the strong showing kindness for the weak while expecting nothing in return.  In Luthor’s mind, allowing an invincible being to simply solve all our problems is the road to fascism. 

Of course, Superman finds him laughable.  He has no desire to rule anyone; he just wants to inspire us all to be good.  He has also pointed out that while he didn’t work for his powers, he does have to work to control them.  After all, those hands of his that he uses to punch a meteor to bits are the same hands that he uses to rescue a kitten from a tree. 

He has also taken up Luthor’s challenge to show how alien technology can benefit humanity.  However, this has proven futile, as neither he nor his cousin Supergirl had received the proper education to decipher Kryptonian technology. 

////////////////////////////////////////// 

Even though the Cold War is over, the weapons race it started never ended.  It seems every week, another mad scientist pops up with some type of death ray or mutant frog-plant-thing, and it’s always a perfect version of some Cold War design (sometimes American, sometimes Soviet, but always annoying).  Thankfully, some good guys with similar weapons have been showing up to even things out.  The three that stand out the most have been dubbed as The Flash, Green Arrow, and … Batman.  

I don’t really like this Batman fellow.  Too grim and too brutal for my tastes.  Granted, that’s probably the type of hero a hellhole like Gotham City needs, but he strikes me as a sociopath who targets criminals just so that he can be called a hero.  The fact that he’s introduced a young kid sidekick, Robin, to this life just makes it all the worse. 

At least Superman has been a good influence on young Supergirl, as Green Arrow has been for his partner Speedy, and Flash has been for Kid Flash, and the Atom has been for Bumblebee. 

////////////////////////////////////////////// 

Wonder Woman’s story should let us know that many myths of old were once true – but not all of them faded away.  One such myth is Atlantis. 

While other ancient civilizations collapsed, Atlantis spread across the ocean floor, trading with human coastal villages until the Middle Ages.  At that time, there were murder cases involving humans and Atlanteans, and rather than risk all-out war, the Atlanteans decided to abandon humanity altogether. 

This was the case until recently, when the new Atlantean King Orin appeared, alongside his wife Queen Mera and their son Garth.  He quickly befriended the Justice League and announced his intentions of reopening trade with humanity. 

Lex Luthor scoffed at his proposal, giving him a mocking nickname of “Aquaman” which King Orin actually loved so much it became his official nickname.  Likewise, his son Garth went with “Aqualad”. 

But more importantly, Atlantis proved a real challenge to LexCorp as though they were driven by magic, they still produce all their goods through acquired knowledge and hard work.  At first, Luthor tried to beat them thru capitalism, offering better yet cheaper products.  But then Wayne Enterprises and Queen Industries both started beating him at his game. 

So, Luthor resorted to criminal methods instead.  He was hardly new at this, given his long feud with Superman.  Creating a few surface-dwellers to disrupt Aquaman and his precious Atlantis quickly became a fun side hobby.  (Remind me to thank Oracle for revealing this.) 

///////////////////////////////////////// 

Wonder Woman is the last of the Amazons, but every magic-using superhero and supervillain (both living and dead) is descended directly from one of her sisters-in-arms.  I can’t imagine what it must be like, then, to have a rogues gallery made of the family tree of your old comrades. 

It hasn’t dismayed them from fighting oppression, but they almost did when they led a small, international squad into Khandaq to stop the genocide of the Egyptian minority.  The dictator of Khadaq, Asin Muhunnad, threatened war with Egypt if they intervened, threatening to unleash the city-destroying bomb that the Allies never had to use. 

Despite their best efforts, Wonder Woman’s team met failure as village after village was destroyed by a chemical weapon that was variant of the gas of Dr. Poison (one of Ares’ Axis allies) and Scarecrow’s fear toxin.  To make matters worse, Muhunnad kept his promise and fired his bomb at Cairo. 

Thankfully, the bomb was intercepted by Superman, who carried it into the upper stratosphere before trying to crush it with his hands.  He succeeded, and the whole world saw the massive explosion. 

Nobody should have survived it, but he did.  His body fell out of the radioactive cloud, his costume destroyed and his body quickly decaying.  But thanks to sunlight, his body recovered his in time for him to slowly crash land onto a market place stall.  He got up and politely asked the stunned shopkeeper if he could borrow some clothes 

He flew into to Khandaq and appeared right before Muhunnad, his eyes were glowing red with anger.  He pushed the dictator up against the palace wall, smashing it in, and the tyrant begged for his life.  Superman noticed that he had lost his accent, and then saw through his disguise to identify him as none other than Vandal Savage, whom Ares had rewarded with immortality for his servitude. 

He dragged Savage straight into the United Nations, where he was immediately put on trial for crimes against humanity.  He was then locked up in Belle Reeve, where due to construction he was placed in the women’s prison.  According to the guards, he shares a cell with Killer Frost, who has turned him into a sex toy.  Serves the bastard right. 

There were plans to turn Khandaq into another democracy, but then it was shown that the people were celebrating the loss of their tyrant by pillaging their museums and destroying cultural artifacts.  It was clear the people were not ready for modern governance, and a new, Western-friendly dictator needed to be placed in power. 

Such a man was found in the Egyptian military, a descendant of an Amazon who went by the popular nickname of Black Adam. 

But some good did come out of this.  Soon after, Wonder Woman introduced her own sidekick to the world – Wonder Girl, her own daughter, the product of the love she and Steve Trevor held.  She seems to be every bit her mother’s daughter, in terms of both appearance and character.  She even possesses her mother’s strength and powers. 

But, there is some speculation that she is adopted – the sole survivor of an Egyptian village destroyed in Khandaq.  Her accent is probably the best contributor to this theory.  But when asked, Wonder Girl has denied that, instead expressing great pride in carrying the heart and the blood of both an Amazon and a Marine.

/////////////////////////////////////// 

Lex Luthor has lost the presidency to Steve Trevor.  Thank … you … Jesus!! 

/////////////////////////////////////////// 

This has been one crazy month for superheroes. 

First, there’s what happened to Barbara Gordon, daughter of James Gordon, Gotham City Police Commissioner and outspoken supporter of Batman. 

The Joker entered their family home and crippled her by shooting her through the spine.  While she’s physically recovered now, I fear her mind may never heal.  When asked about getting surgery to fix her spine, she refused.  She clung tightly onto her wheelchair, claiming that it was the only place where she could ever be safe. 

She earned her Ph.D. at age 12, and has since contributed to hundreds of articles in AI journals.  She only went to high school because her single father wanted her to have a normal social life.  Now, she’s the world’s last cripple. 

Commissioner Gordon, who was kidnapped and tormented by the Joker after the shooting, is not taking this lightly.  He’s become an advocate for the death penalty, wanting to legally execute all the inmates of Arkham Asylum. 

Wonder Woman and Aquaman both seem to be OK with this.  After all, they're both warriors who've been killing terrorists and supervillains for the better part of the last century.  But the rest of the Justice League strongly disagrees.

Batman refuses to comment on this, but it seems that he and Robin had an intense disagreement about it, or at least about something.  With the announced disappearance of Batgirl, I’m sure it was even more emotional.  Ultimately, Robin quit being a sidekick, and was last seen headed for Jump City. 

In the midst of this debate, Earth’s Green Lantern returned with emissaries from his Lantern Corps.  It seems that were engaged in an intergalactic war with Darkseid of Apokolips, and were asking for Earth’s superheroes for assistance.  The Justice League initially rejected this offer. 

But then Superman was alerted to a break-in at the Fortress of Solitude.  He and Supergirl found that a servant of Darkseid, Desaad, was investigating his Kryptonian relics for possible weapons of war.  A fight broke out between them, and while Superman was facing off Parademons, Desaad got hold of Supergirl and briefly tortured her, physically and mentally.  It was only for a few seconds, but enough for Superman to punch him clear across the Fortress and force him to cowardly flee through a Boom-Tube.

Now the League has left Earth with the Green Lanterns, with no telling of when they’ll come back, or if they ever will.  Saying goodbye to Superman was the most heart-wrenching things I’ve ever done, but I know that it must have felt like nothing compared to the families of Wonder Woman and Aquaman. 

(Just before leaving, Aquaman whispered to President Trevor, “If I’m not back in five years, take good care of Mera.”  Likewise, Wonder Woman whispered to Mera, “If I’m not back in five years, take good care of Steve”.) 

And just in time for them to leave, Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen were both murdered by the League of Assassins.  Ra’s al-Ghul himself made a video bragging about it, and then took his own life to escape justice. 

In accordance with their wills, Queen Industries merged with Wayne Enterprises, which has a new CEO – Michael Holt, founder of Cyberwear and former Olympic champion.  His first action was to appoint Edward Nygma as head of research, claiming to have faith in the reformed criminal formerly known as The Riddler. 

Mr. Wayne also left his house to Miss Selina Kyle, Gotham’s most infamous high-class girl (and former professional thief known as Catwoman).  According to Alfred, she’s pregnant with the heir to the Wayne fortune and legacy.

But today was a big day for Supergirl.  After receiving a full recovery thanks to Dr. Emil Hamilton of STAR Labs, she was declared Champion of Earth, and given a wristband that was also a supercomputer, alerting her to new threats of high-class villainy anywhere in the world.  She gladly accepted this new responsibility, and also declared Wonder Girl as her partner. 

But they'll both be staying out of Gotham.  After crippling Barbara, the Joker's crazy girlfriend announced that she is finally dumping him, promising to be good under Commissioner Gordon's surveillance.  She seems to be keeping that promise, teaming up with reformed Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Lady Shiva to be the new Guardians of Gotham - the Birds of Prey.

Good luck, girls, because there’s still lots of problems in the world.  Besides the League of Assassins, there’s also the Brotherhood of Evil, Kobra, the Royal Flush Gang, and a new mad scientist or talking animal making headlines every week. 

///////////////////////////////////////////// 

Robin used to be a sidekick.  Not anymore.  Now he is a well-deserved leader of the Teen titans, a group of young superheroes operating out of Jump City, and just recently saved Tokyo from the latest of giant monsters.  Even if you haven’t heard of them, your kids probably have, as they are immensely popular amongst the under 18 crowd and for all the right reasons. 

////////////////////////////////////////// 

Victor Stone was originally a typical aspiring high school athlete.  Then one day, he visited his parents at work only to be caught in an explosion that killed his mother and vaporized half his body. 

His father, Dr. Silas Stone, had been employed by STAR Labs to work on developing new military weapons.  But now, to rectify this tragedy, Victor’s body was placed into stasis as his research was shifted over to computerized robotics, building up on the Cold War research of the lost genius Dr. T. O. Morrow. 

The result was Cyborg, a perfect fusion of the human body with the finest in AI technology.  But Cyborg was not at all happy with his new body, and quickly had a massive episode of PTSD.  To make matters worse, Lex Luthor (who owned STAR Labs at the time), claimed that Cyborg was his personal property, as his body was made of technology that was patented under his name.  This was too much for the boy, and he responded by running away.  The day after, STAR Labs was bought by Michael Holt and merged with Cyberwear. 

Cyborg eventually found himself in Jump City, where he joined the Teen Titans.  This new group of friends turned out to be just what he needed.  And as luck would have it, Cyberwear just happened to own a xenothium power plant in the city.  Michael Holt soon agreed to finance the Titans and had Dr. Stone a T-shaped tower for them to live in. 

Victor also seems to be on friendly terms with Barbara Gordon.  Makes sense, since they both struggle with PTSD, both had their bodies seriously maimed, are both computer experts, and there’s a good chance that her research contributed to the production of his robotic side. 

(NOTE: make sure to change people’s names before publication). 

//////////////////////////////// 

Slade’s robots have been confirmed to have been the same design used in the androids of Dr. T. O. Morrow.  Still gives me no leads to his identity.  Sorry, Oracle. 

//////////////////////////////// 

Cadmus was established by the US government in an attempt to create their own superheroes.  They only saw success until fairly recently, creating a “Panther-woman” and “Wildebeest-man”.  But upon their creation, they realized it would be wrong to make these sentient beings slaves of the government.  So, they were given to impoverished families – Pantha in Mexico, and Wildebeest in Africa – where they grew up to be their own superheroes. 

But one Cadmus scientist – Dr. Logan – continued his research.  He did so with assistance from his wife, who used a glowing green artifact that, when used properly, could change a person into an animal.  I believe that this had been the magical power source of the sorceress Circe, one of the minions and lovers of Ares, so Dr. Logan’s wife was likely an Amazon descendant. 

They studied this artifact to explain its magical properties in scientific terms.  These came to fruition when their son Garfield caught a disease than was incurable in humans but curable in monkeys.  They successfully turned their son into a green monkey and cured him, but then he absorbed the entire artifact, permanently gaining green skin and the ability to change into any animal.  His clothes could do this as well. 

Soon after, his parents were victims to a flood, and young Garfield was taken in by the Doom Patrol, who named him Beast Boy.  He’s currently with the Teen Titans. 

I didn’t hear about Cadmus again until last year.  As it turns out, a space alien craft was seen landing in New Zealand.  Supergirl and Wonder Girl were sent to investigate.  They found that the aliens had created a human/alien hybrid to spy on us.  But Supergirl and Wonder Girl befriended her and turned her against their creators.  The aliens left, the hybrid girl became a young superhero named Argent, and the alien technology was handed over to Cadmus.

///////////////////////////////////// 

Raven is definitely the most interesting of the Teen Titans.  She clearly has immense magical power, but she’s not descended from an Amazon.  Rather, she seems to have come from a completely different reality altogether, with gods and magic different from that in our universe. 

I also can’t help but notice that her appearance is similar to something I’d expect out of Gotham – tight black body suit, belt around the waist, dark cape, hood that only exposes her eyes and mouth …. she’s ever got her own animal-themed symbol.  I still don’t think Batman made a good role model, but maybe she sees something in him that I never did. 

////////////////////////////////////////////////

Eight years ago, our government had made Vandal Savage dictator of Khandaq to stabilize the country, but was removed from power after committing gross human rights violations.  As the country destabilized yet again, an Egyptian sorcerer-general nicknamed Black Adam was put in charge by our government, but last week he turned out to be a tyrant as well.  He challenged President Trevor’s authority by having him fight Khandaq’s best soldiers in an arena.  The President beat them all. 

Then Black Adam himself entered, and gained the upper hand due to his magic.  But President Trevor saw this, and unveiled one of his bodyguards as none other than Queen Mera of Atlantis.  Since Khandaq was a third-world country that strongly opposed female equality, Trevor argued that this would be the perfect time to demonstrate male superiority.

But even with the limited available water supply, Mera came out on top, but she failed to stop Black Adam from committing suicide out of humiliation.

As the country once again lacked a leader, it was divided between Israel and Egypt.  Hopefully now democracy will finally come to the region.

Also, Trevor and Mera seemed awfully close in that post-fight interview.  

////////////////////////////////////////////////

Well, I just had my interview with Supergirl and … I feel like I should take a bath. 

Many people have had the idea that superheroes lead love lives just like the rest of us.  As it turns out, they prefer love lives modeled after James Bond. 

For instance, the Amazons practiced the ancient Greek custom of cohabiting with your fellow soldiers as a way to strengthen bonds between them.  They continued this practice in the Allied armies, both with each other and with their new male companions, and they got far more pleasure out of dominating men in bed than in battle.  By war’s end, all the surviving Amazons were pregnant, either by a fallen comrade or by the soldier she was in love with. 

After the war, as Amazons joined their new soulmates, they had a profound impact on public views of sex and romance.  It wasn't uncommon for an Amazon to accompany her lover as he returned home to his wife and their children, upsetting the traditional family structure.  Less common were Amazons returning with a soldier of darker or lighter skin, and even less common was an Amazon returning hand-in-hand with a woman pilot.  Still, though it took a few years, society eventually became accepting of all romances, including same-sex, interracial, and group.

The Amazons also influenced sex and relations to be woman-centered: women (rather than men) were now (and still are) the ones to seek out sexual partners, and could do so regardless of number, ethnicity, or gender.  Meanwhile, men are encouraged to pleasure women, both physically and emotionally, as well as being a good father for her children.  (Yes, Amazons happily accepted the role of motherhood, finding more joy in creating life than taking it.)  Once a woman finds her ideal man, she remains faithful to him as they raise children together.  (And if the ideal mate happens to be another woman, she may still seek out a man to father and help raise her children.)  This led to the phrase that is now taught in sex ed, "Free love until true love".  A prime example is Diana and Steve, who have remained a faithful battle couple for nearly a century.

It should also be noted that all non-human superheroes are bisexual and polyamorous by default.  Atlantean royalty takes this to extremes, with King Orin and Mera each having a separate harem of concubines consisting of both sexes. 

This applies to Superman as well, although he has his libido under strong control, claiming that I’m the only one he’s ever slept with.  I take a lot of pride in that, and in the fact that we’ve always done it passionately without going rough.  But Supergirl... 

Like James Bond, human superheroes live a life where they are in constant danger, thus making it impossible to have any type of long-lasting relationship.  So, unless you become part of a battle couple, it’s best to just forsake romance and go for one-night-stands and friends-with-benefits.  And the older heroes had no problem teaching their proteges to do the same.  Batman even gave Robin drugs that incorporated Nth Metal into his muscle and bone structures, making him strong enough to make love to a super-strong sex-friend, and I believe Green Arrow did the same for Speedy.

Yes, it is dirty to think about, but if teenagers are to go up against monsters and psychopaths on a daily basis, why not let them screw?  As long as they consent and use protection, that is.  It certainly sounds better than having to deal with intermingling love triangles. 

Supergirl took full advantage of this, as did Wonder Girl to as to honor her Amazonian customs.  In addition to screwing each other, they screwed the other sidekicks, who were always happy to oblige.  (The one exception is Batgirl, on account of her being straight.  Also, when she became a battle couple with Robin, he became off-limits, and remains such even though she’s still missing.)  But whoever their bed partner(s) was/were, Wonder Girl always made herself dominant (like a true Amazon) while Supergirl enjoyed being lip-locked throughout all of fourth base.

Ever since the League left, Supergirl and Wonder Girl have done many team ups with other younger heroes that would go on to become Honorary Titans.  They also bedded them as well, and they both experienced every type of superpower-sex that you could imagine. 

But this came to head stop when they met the Shazam Family, a brother-sister-friend team and the newest superheroes in the world. While Supergirl and Wonder Girl tried to seduce them, they revealed their secret identities as elementary school kids. After a freak-out, the two realized that they had a sex addiction problem, and resolved to only sleep with each other until they could find serious relationships.

(Oh, and it also turns out that Amazons and their descendants can't use their full powers until experiencing their first orgasm. In the case of the Shazam kids, it was from eating all of their Halloween candy in one night.)

At around the same time, the Teen Titans saved Tokyo from a giant ink monster, Robin and Starfire shared the most passionate kiss that has ever been caught on screen.  Since then, the other younger heroes have seen a greater desire for serious relationships, and with villainy and an all-time low, they just might be able to have what their mentors thought impossible.

For instance, the post-pubescent Titans East - Aqualad, Speedy, and Bumblebee - have enjoyed regular threesomes until last week.  Aqualad told Bumblebee that he wants to go monogamous with her, seeing her as the perfect candidate as the future Queen of Atlantis.  Meanwhile, Wonder Girl really wants to be a mother, and is looking to Speedy as a potential father and/or father figure.

Supergirl has no intention of giving up her promiscuity, but she does have a rule about not interfering in committed relationships, and it seems that Wonder Girl and Speedy are developing one.  She has also confessed to growing bored of all the casual sex, and would gladly drop all the fun of it if an intimate relationship can make her happier.

If Supergirl really means it, maybe I should set up a blind date with her and Jimmy Olsen.  He’s a great guy and could use a girlfriend. 

///////////////////////////////// 

Robin has decided to re-identify himself as Nightwing, and has done so just in time for Jump City to undergo terror attacks by The Scarecrow. 

Well, this is definitely not the original Scarecrow.  That monster was captured roughly two years ago, and was punished for his corroboration with Vandal Savage by being put in the same cell in Belle Reeve.  The day after, Killer Frost bragged about raping him until he died. 

So, this is clearly a successor.  But he has the same body type, sounds just like the original, and even fights just like him as well.  He claimed that he wanted to excel the old Scarecrow by making gas that could break the minds of both metahumans and alien heroes.  And the Teen Titans seemed like an easy enough start to him. 

With a gang that included minor rogues Cheshire, Gizmo, Mad Mod, Mumbo, and Red X, this new Scarecrow disrupted an Aurora Studio fashion show and gave Jump City its worst nightmare – a rap metal concert.  (Well, at least it was better than Fall Out Boy.)  That, and his new toxin that seemed to work very well, bringing out the Titans’ nightmares that seemed to be gags from a cheesy cartoon.   

But Nightwing rallied his teammates together and called on them to rely on the powers of courage and friendship to defeat their new enemy – and then Raven took out the new Scarecrow rather easily by terrifying him into a coma. 

/////////////////////////// 

With the Tamaranean colony being set up on the moon, now’s a good a time as any to discuss the final Teen Titans member, Starfire. 

Born as the second daughter of the King and Queen of the planet Tamaran, Starfire was still seen as the heir to the throne as her older sister Blackfire was dubbed as unfit to rule, being born with black hair and didn’t develop her powers until later in life.  As a result, Blackfire strongly resented her sister, even though she only wanted to love her.

Tamaraneans are a highly emotional alien race.  They were once slaves to another race known as the Psions, who modified their genes to become biological weapons.  This resulted in the Tamaraneans overthrowing them and taking their planet for themselves.  All of their technology is what the Psions used, as they have little understanding of how the scientific process works.  The Tamaraneans have a moral code that follows two basic commandments: love your friends, and hate your enemies. 

Starfire used to be all about love, even loving her elder sister who was both abusive and discriminated by the rest of Tamaran.  But that changed when the King and Queen were killed in battle by their enemies, the Gondorians.  Starfire then started to focus on hating her enemies, and this was eventually what led her to be captured by the Gondorians.  Thankfully, she managed to escape when their ship was conveniently close to Earth.  She crashed into Jump City and after a quick bout with the Titans, joined them. 

But now her people have come back for her.  According to her younger brother Wildfire, they were approached by a Red Lantern envoy of Darkseid to join him in his war.  They refused, and as a result, their planet was destroyed.  Now the survivors have come looking for their rightful Queen to lead them.  

Their colonization of our moon has been met with vocal opposition, unsurprisingly led by Lex Luthor.  As much as I despise him, I have to admit he has a point.  Having an entire race of emotionally-driven bio-weapons live so closely to humanity is something to be deeply worried about.  Thankfully, President Trevor called upon Michael Holt with a solution.  The Tamaraneans will remain on the moon save for the ones who will work in his xenothium power plants, as their resistance to radioactivity makes them the perfect workers.  In return, Cyberwear will provide the alien refugees with all the materials they need to finish building their New Tamaran.  It’s a win-win for all … except Luthor, of course. 

Like the other non-humans, the Tamaraneans are bisexual and polyamorous.  However, they view all consensual sexual activity as an act of romantic love.  Each Tamaranean has two or three romantic partners, and then each of those has another set of partners that may or may not overlap.  As a result, the whole species is connected in a web of polyamorous romance. 

The one exception to this is the royal family, as their marriages are arranged for the purpose of producing strong leaders for the next generation.  This is what makes Starfire’s marriage so special, as she is the first royal of her kind to marry purely out of love.  She is also the first to declare that her heart belongs to one other person alone. 

Starfire has felt very uneasy about her new role as Queen, but has gladly accepted it, and hopes that her upcoming marriage to Nightwing will help strengthen relations with our new neighbors.


	19. Shadow Schemes

"Interesting … very interesting." 

The Red Lantern was floating underneath the roof of the warehouse that saved as Intergang's base, staring up through a glass window in the ceiling at the moon, now occupied by the refugees she had so joyously displaced. 

"Are you feeling better now?" asked Gamesmaster from below. "You really scared the rest of us with your laughing fit back in the TV room." 

"Well, I am most definitely not sorry for that," she explained. "Destroying the homeworld of those troqs gave me such a sense of euphoric pleasure I never thought was possible. Now, I not only get to finish the job, but do so with her right up in front! I can't wait to see the look on her face when I wipe her stupid smile away for good!" 

"So, did she hurt you somehow to make you hate her that much?" 

"Yes – she was born!" 

"So, just her existence is fills you with rage?" Gamesmaster asked from a state of mild shock. 

"Absolutely!" Then she flew down to Gamesmaster, still floating in the air over his head. "And you will help me, like you have with preparing the Anti-Life Equation." 

"Yes, of course! Intergang is here to help with my lady's every request!" 

"Good."  She looked at Gamesmaster with the biggest grin on her face, her eyes glowing green with excitement. "Gamesmaster, we're going to destroy the wedding!" 

"My thoughts exactly! But if you really want to hurt the Troq and her soon-to-be-consort, you're going to need be extremely precise about it. We're going to need the ultimate murder weapon: the one person in the entire world who hates Robin more than anything, and will do anything to break, crush and destroy him.  And I know exactly who that is!" 

/ 

"So then, Your Majesty, I trust that you find you find our proposals reasonable?" 

"Yes, Mr. Holt. My people shall be most filled with joy to come and work for you." 

An hours' worth of negotiations had paid its toll, as Starfire and Michael Holt signed a 30-page contract, printed in both English and Tamaranean, detailing all the working conditions, resource payments, and other necessities of the first interspecies trade agreement in human history. After the two had signed their names on ten dotted lines (along with Beast Boy serving as a notary), the two laid down their pens and shook hands, making sure to strike convincing poses for the press. 

Once they had cleared the room, Michael laid back in his office chair to sip on his favorite sports drink. "I know you're here, Robin. Yeah, I know, you've put on some grown-up pants and go by Nightwing now, but you'll always be Robin to me." 

Nightwing approached Mr. Holt's desk, having a straight and firm posture. "Is that because you still see me as a kid?" he asked. 

Mr. Holt spun his chair around to face him directly. "Because I see you as someone I've personally had an impact on, and vice versa. When you first came here, I did see you as a kid, running away from home because the big mean Bat wouldn't let you have enough playtime. When I agreed to cover everything for your team – weapons, forensics, housing, clean-up – I truly thought you'd be little more than some good entertainment, and a welcome break for the city's hyper-police. But, not long after, I got in touch with a certain Dr. Stone, who cried as he told about how he'd been forced to turn is son into a Cyborg. It moved me so much that I bought out STAR Labs just to make sure that he could directly help his son's team. I also saw your leadership skills in your fights, and I was quickly convinced that you really could transcend into something much more than a sidekick. And sure, enough you did." 

"I see. You have still not forgiven me about the Xenothium." 

"Oh, I've forgiven you! I'm just still a tad bit angry that the protégé of the world's greatest detective abused my trust and the trust of his friends to jeopardize my city AND create a super-thief! And don't act like keeping tabs on Professor Chang was enough to make up for it!" 

Nightwing closed his eyes and sighed. "I see. So, I'll never be able to…" 

"Think fast!" 

Nightwing looked up and quickly caught a football coming towards him – the same football that Michael had received for his college championship. Then he quickly whipped out his baton and engaged in a fencing match with Mr. Holt, which ended with both pointing their weapons at the other. 

"Yes, you've made mistakes, as have the best of us. But you learn from them, and besides, all the good you do far outweigh the bad. I work with children when I'm Mr. Terrific, and whenever I see them in person, I always ask they want to be like. And then I ask who they want to be like besides me. Half the kids say their mom, dad, or favorite teacher, but the other half say they want to be like you, or one of your friends. You've all become an inspiration to them, touching them in ways that I or members of the League never could." 

Michael then put his sword away and wished is friend farewell. "So, keep up the good fight. You may not be a kid anymore, but you better not disappoint them like you did me." 

/ 

Red X was very careful in sneaking through the warehouse, having memorized the rest of his teammates' routines to know exactly how to reach the exit. After carefully bypassing the security lock, he made his way outside and began rushing down an alley, only to be stopped in his tracks by a thrown dagger. He looked up to see Cheshire staring down at him from a roof. 

"Who said you could leave?" she asked. 

"I don't take orders from anyone!" he responded. "Especially a genocidal psychopath!" 

"To leave Intergang is betrayal, and all traitors must be exterminated." 

"Then come on and execute me!" 

The two fought up and down the alley, leaving claw marks and pools of Red X liquid across every square inch. Finally, Red X managed to trap Cheshire against the side of the wall. 

"I don't care what it costs," he bragged. "I'd rather lose everything else and still keep my conscience." 

He started to leap away, but found his body inexplicably frozen solid. After ten seconds of frustratingly trying to move, he started to walk slowly towards Cheshire and released her, all to his horror. 

"Thanks for distracting him, Cheshire," said Gamesmaster, emerging from the shadows with a new remote. "This thing never works unless you're in the proper radius." 

Red X struggled to just barely get the words out. "What? How?" 

"Ah, well, before I sent Dr. Light to his appointment with Scarecrow, he and I snuck into the Gotham PD under the guise of tech support and stole Mad Hatter's mind control tech. Then using the hardware lying around my new home, I wove the tech into everyone's headgear while they were sleeping and linked them to my new remote! This way, I can assure that anyone who joins our little club is under my control. Speaking of, you need to go and explain yourself to our club president!" 

A few minutes later, Gamesmaster was outside the Red Lantern's bedroom door, with Red X behind him unable to move despite his constant twitching. While Gamesmaster put the finishing tweaks on a modified version of Mad Hatter's headband, Red X furiously berated him. 

"You're a monster! Why are you doing this?" 

"The Titans are my enemy. What's so difficult to get about that?" 

"This affects more than just the Titans! An intergalactic war … ruining a wedding of peace … This isn't how…" 

"How I do what? Play the game? Oh yes, we've all been doing a pretty good job of playing it, but we've all entered adulthood now. Playtime is over! It's time we start earning the respect we deserve!" 

A red light on the headband glowed, signifying that his work was complete. He opened the bedroom door and, without looking, tossed the headband inside and happily said, "All ready to go, madam!" 

Then Gamesmaster turned pushed a button on his remote, releasing Red X from its control. Red X tried to run away, but found his body frozen again, and then began moving against his will towards the bedroom door. 

"It's a pity there's no easy tech for swapping minds, 'cuz I'd give anything to be in your body now!" mocked Gamesmaster before walking off. 

Red X was then forced to enter the room, lock the door, and stretch out his body over a severely-burnt mattress. He then felt a sharp pain in his groin, like a paintbrush covered in fire was digging through his suit and into his skin. As the pain continued up his torso, he strained his head to see his torturer: the Red Lantern gave a long lick of her plasma-covered tongue in between his abs, then his chest, and then finally his neck, burning off his costume and the top layer of his skin. She then lifted her upper body in a sexy pose and gazed down at her prey. 

Catching his breath from screaming, Red X could only see her evil smile and the headband. A second later, and the headband and her lantern ring were all that she was wearing. 

"So, you don't like being a pawn in my little game. Don't worry; you can be my toy!" 

Her smile grew bigger as she tore off his mask. 

"Are you scared? You should be. All of my toys have been. Starting with my little brother and going all the way up to my scary soulmate.  He loved the fear I gave him. But do you know what the point of fear is? It's power, and I _love_ power!  And now, I'm going to rule over you!" 


	20. Enter the Mindscape

"This place … must be heaven!"

Scarecrow took a good glance around the gloomy pocket dimension that was Raven's mind. Numerous floating rocks scattered throughout an empty ocean of uncaring darkness, the whole environment resonating with loneliness and despair. Scarecrow had never felt so joyful since his days of reading back in his solitary youth, and he could feel the black magic that had been trapped within him begin to connect with his surroundings.

Right when he had wished it, a stone bridge had formed, creating a path straight to the main floating island of Raven's mind. While strolling along the path, he encountered numerous four-eyed rats and crows, who attacked as they were guard dogs. But once they got close to him, they immediately stopped, and the fierce looks on their faces turned to ones of timidity.

Scarecrow smiled and simply said, "Boo!" This was enough to scare them away. "So, my fear has deeply left its mark on the poor demon!" he bragged as he continued to walk happily. "It's amazing what you can accomplish just by stepping outside of Gotham!"

Once Scarecrow got to the edge of the bridge, he found himself at the entrance of a giant stone maze, and he could sense a strong source of black magic nearby. He traced this source through the maze and came across Gray Raven, the personification of her timidity, sitting on the ground and reading a book. Upon seeing him, she closed the book and ran, and he quickly chased after her. It was a rather short chase, and Scarecrow found Gray Raven sitting with her back against a dead end, grasping the book against her chest while whimpering in terror.

"Please go away," she begged. "You frighten me."

"I frighten you? That's absurd! You carry the blood of the nightmares in your veins! How could a scrawny, washed-up failure of a research associate possibly frighten the likes of you?"

"Because … you understand me, yet you only wish to hurt me. You dedicate your life to learning, like me, yet you only seek to hurt others."

Scarecrow snickered. "I honestly thought that we might share the same appreciation of fear. After all, fear is what drives all our actions, even yours!"

"I … I … don't … do fear," replied Gray Raven, trying to sound like her Green counterpart.

"Oh, come now! You do so many acts of good because you're afraid of turning into your father's daughter! You made friends with the Titans because you're afraid of being alone! Likewise, they're friends with you because they're afraid of you."

"No, that's not true! My friends love me!"

"Do they? I mean, I'm an officially-licensed psychopath and I think … hey, where are you going?"

Gray Raven had now started to walk away, the stone maze turning into a straight path towards the horizon.

"Emergency meeting. All emotions have to go."

"Alright, I guess I'll come along."

Scarecrow rushed up beside Gray Raven and continued his argument.

"Anyways, even I think it'd be crazy to watch someone clearly make herself out to be a dark sorceress with powers levels akin to that of a minor god from ancient mythology and go, 'Gee, she sure is cute! I'd like to get to know her better!'. No, people fear power, and when they encounter the type of power that you possess, they will do anything to avoid it. Millennia ago, they offered such beings burnt sacrifices, boring hymns, and cities named in their honor. But in today's culture, they show their fear by offering you companionship, hoping that if you ever go angry you'll remember all the fun times you've had and quell your wrath. That is what you've been fearing, isn't it?"

Gray Raven was silent for a while, before answering, "Yes, it's true. I've always worried that their friendship was just a rouse, that once they saw the real me they would think of me as a hellspawn with a secret lust for power."

"And have you ever faced your fears? Used your power to dig into their minds to find out how they really feel about you?"

"No, I'm … too afraid."

"Thus, proving my hypothesis."

The two of them came to the end of the maze, and Scarecrow was shocked to find an open with a sunny sky, acres of flowers, and forests and tress growing strawberries and candies, all of it brightly colored to the point of being obnoxious.

"Did we walk into someone else's mind?"

"No, this is deep in Raven's mind; what she seldom shows to anyone. Our meeting is underneath that tree over there."

Scarecrow rolled his eyes when he saw that the tree had bright pink leaves and branches shaped into a valentine heart. In the tree's shade were the rest of Raven's emoticlones (except for Red Raven, who had not been invited), seated around a table that seemed to take the shape of four circles bunched together like a Venn diagram.

"Thank you all for coming!" exclaimed the pink-cloaked Happy Raven, twirling around with her arms outstretched. "We are about to start one of the amazing moments in. … oh look, we have a visitor!"

The other emoticlones turned to face Gray Raven and Scarecrow, who was quickly pelted to the ground by a roundhouse kick delivered by the green-cloaked Brave Raven.

"You've got some nerve showing up here, after what you did to my friends!" she said while planting her foot on his neck and thrusting her fists into her sides.

"I don't think they are really friends," objected Gray Raven. "They are just pretending to appease us. This stranger managed to figure it out, so there's no point in trying to hide it."

Suddenly, a crack appeared across the foreheads of each emoticlone. Only Scarecrow seemed to notice.

"How many times have we told you not to talk like that?" asked Happy. "Raven will never be happy if she thinks like that."

"Besides, this stranger has no place here!" argued Brave as she started to drag Scarecrow away. "I'll just quickly throw him out the exit."

"Yes, please, you do that! Then I can hurt your friends all over again!"

Brave Raven stopped and trampled the mad doctor underneath her foot again.

"Don't you dare!" she ordered.

"Oh, but what's stopping me? You know the drill – I scare people, get thrown in jail, get out, scare some more people, and so on in an eternal cycle. This glorious mind of yours is the only prison I don't want to leave – though I will be leaving this part. So, letting me roam freely around this place would be best for both of us."

Brave Raven kicked him aside and walked back to the pink valentine tree. "Fine, you can stay, but no more messing with any of us!"

"Don't worry; I give my word as a man of science!"

"Right, now then," continued Happy Raven, "let's talk about this joyous day!"

Happy Raven pulled a pink cloak off the Venn diagram table, revealing that the four circles had been labeled after the Four Loves - Storge (empathy), Philia (friendship), Eros (romantic) and Agape (unconditional). Small stone replicas of her fellow Titans Tower members were in the intersection between Storge and Agape, with the rest of her friends and acquaintances scattered between Philia and Agape.

"Today is the day when Raven opens to Beast Boy, and maybe, just maybe, we can finally move someone into the Eros circle!" She cheered and did several backflips in celebration, while the other emoticlones just looked on with deadpan looks.

"OK, it's starting! Woo-hoo!"

A rift opened in the sky above, showing the vision through Raven's eyes. She and Beast Boy were in their "normal human" disguises at a table at their new favorite vegan café, and sitting on the table was a small box with the Daily Planet logo on it.

"I really don't wanna do this," Raven confessed.

"Hey, c'mon, it's no big deal! She does what I did and talk about what made you become a hero and what you like about it!"

"Well, that's all very personal to me, and I don't wanna share that with the whole world."

"Well, Miss Lane already promised that she'd edit out the more intimate parts. Besides, if it makes you feel any better, I'll tell you about something personal."

"Really?"

"Yeah, ask me anything!"

"OK … why are you trying so hard to make me laugh?"

This caught Beast Boy off guard, and he quickly started to think about the best way to answer it.

"Well, I guess it's because it might make me stop hurting inside. I talked about how I went through the cliché of my parents dying, and all heroes cope with that in some way. For me, that through my amazing sense of humor, and with you being such a sour puss, you are the ultimate challenge! If I can finally make you laugh, then we could laugh together, and we wouldn't have to hurt."

"So, is that really it? You just wanna stop hurting?"

"Yeah. Truthfully, I've never really liked myself. My parents were both super-smart scientists, and I struggled with Dr. Seuss when I was eight. I've always felt dumber than anyone else in the room, and my fighting skills are sub-par for someone who can turn into a T-Rex. Anytime I've succeeded at anything at, it was always a team effort. The only things I'm good at on my own are video games, music, and telling jokes. If I can do the impossible with any of those, then … maybe I can stop feeling like such a loser."

Raven was genuinely shocked at this confession. She knew that many of her comrades had struggled with self-worth, but Beast Boy's now seemed somewhat comparable to her own. Inside her mind, the purple-cloaked Passion Raven started to glow, and the Beast Boy replica began to inch closer to the Eros circle.

"Well, that's my confession. Now, how about you?"

"Yes, well … my mom was a witch, my dad a demon. I was born in Azarath, where the priests tried every form of spell, incantation, and meditation to block out my father's influence on me, but to little effect. The high priestess Azar decided that the best counter to a demonic link to my soul would be a human link to my soul. So, whenever I would sleep, my mind would connect with the humans of the highest moral character – Batman and Robin. I shared their sights, sounds, and feelings.

"Batman and Robin gave me a sense of emotions and morality that I couldn't understand, but I wanted to like them. When I was awake, none of the other Azarathian kids would play with me so I pretended to be Batman, sulking in the shadows with a cape wrapped around my neck. I started reading because I saw them doing so to strengthen their minds, and discovered just how amazing books could be. I even started calling myself Raven because it was a name that sounded like it would fit in with the Bat Family."

"Wait, your real name isn't Raven?"

"Well, my actual birth name is Rachel Roth. It's the name my mother gave me, but I could tell from a young age she had far more fear of me than love. Same is true for everyone in Azarath, no matter how hard they tried to help me. I couldn't relate to anyone in Azarath, but I was so much like Batman. Dark, lonely, mysterious – everything that I was, except that he was good. I based my costume off him, and it hurt me when the priests and my mother scolded me for thinking that I could be like him. But Batman had one other thing I never did – a family. Alfred, Robin, Batgirl – all of them who didn't just fight beside him, but loved him. They all loved each other, and there was nobody who loved me. That's what I wanted more than to be a hero or to be good – I wanted to be loved.

"So, when Robin broke up with Batman, I put the idea in his head to come to Jump City. There I joined him, and the rest of you. At first, I was afraid that I couldn't be a hero or be good, but I was also afraid that none of you would ever love me. But you all proved me wrong. I don't think any of you have ever understood me – what I had to do to quell my father's influence, why I was so hesitant to be social, why I was so creepy and different and locking myself in my room all the time. But you never let any of that bother me. You accepted me, you showed me that I could be a hero, that I didn't have to be like my father, and you loved me despite not understanding me. And because of that, I could really start loving myself for the first time."

By the end of her speech, Raven's eyes were closed, and she'd started to shed tears of joy. She couldn't see the look on Beast Boy's face, but she did feel the napkin wipe the tears.

"Hey, it's great that you love yourself now, but don't cry! Pretty girls shouldn't cry!"

Raven took the napkin and wiped off her face. "Thank you, Beast Boy, but now I have another question. Do you love me?

"Of course! Like a…"

"Not like a friend or a sister. Do you love me like how Kid Flash loves Jinx, or how Robin loves Starfire?"

Beast Boy's face froze, as though his brain had either stopped working or was quickly processing the best way to spit out an answer.

"This is taking too long. If we want an answer, we should just consider his mind," advised the yellow-cloaked Logical Raven.

"No, that goes completely against friendship!" protested Passionate Raven. "We have to hear him say it himself!"

Beast Boy was about to blurt something out when both their communicators started beeping, indicating that their hero services were needed.

"Sorry Rae, looks like I'll have to get back to you on that!"

And then the schism in the mind's sky closed, and the emoticlones wandered back to their respective domains, disappointed that nothing had changed.

"It is for the best," figured Gray Raven. "If Beast Boy had not given the answer Raven wanted, then Anger would be released, and that is always bad."

"Speaking of, I don't believe I sensed any anger at your little meeting," remarked Scarecrow as he caught up with her. "Was Anger not invited?"

"Rage is never invited. She only comes out when Raven's mind begins to break, and then … she makes Raven go bad."

"Really? Well, if I'm going to be here, I'd might as well meet all of you. Where does Rage live?"

"I am not supposed to say. You made her escape last time; you cannot be trusted near her."

"Is that so? Well, I guess I'll just have to wander around then. Hopefully, I won't find the exit by mistake and hurt your friends some more!"

Scarecrow's sadistic manipulation worked on Gray Raven.

A while later, Happy Raven was celebrating the news that Starfire had chosen Raven to be her Maid of Honor when she saw that the sky began to turn dark red and small fissures began to appear in the ground. She looked up in horror to see the red-cloaked Rage Raven flying overhead, making her way down to the pink valentine tree. Happy quickly rushed to stop Rage in her tracks.

"What is this?" Happy demanded. "Who let you out?"

"Um, I did," confessed Gray Raven, appearing to Happy's right side. "I'm sorry, I just was afraid of what would happen if he got out."

"He?"

"Wow, discussing who you should be in love with," quipped Scarecrow, appearing behind Happy at the Venn table. "That's quite an emotional subject to debate, and yet not all emotions were invited. Doesn't that make you angry?"

"Yes, it does," replied Rage, who grabbed Happy by the neck and dragged her over to the Venn table. "What did you decide?"

"We thought that maybe it would be ready for Raven to begin a romance with Beast Boy, but while our love has grown stronger, he refuses to answer."

"Asking someone for love?" quipped Scarecrow. "That may work well for humans, but face it, you're a goddess! You ought to be demanding mortal men for their love, none of this relationship crap!"

"No, that goes against free will!" protested Happy.

"But no matter how many relationships I have, I am still lonely," argued Gray.

"Yes, I've been alone for too long!" proclaimed Rage. "After all that I've been through, I deserve passionate companionship!" She started to reach for the Beast Boy figurine, but was stopped by Scarecrow grabbing her wrist.

"Whoa, hold on, do you really want him as your lover?" asked Scarecrow. "Immature, lazy, loud annoying, pretends that your siblings in public. No, what you want is someone whose always been there for you, someone who inspired you to be what you are, someone who has helped you conquer your greatest fears. Someone like…," and then he tapped the top of the Robin figurine twice with his right pointer finger.

"No!" protested Happy. "Robin is meant to be with Starfire!"

"Why?" asked Scarecrow. "You've been connected to him before you even met. You've seen his most intimate thoughts and feelings. Didn't you come to this world just to be alongside him? It wasn't because you wanted to be a hero like him; you fell in love with him! He's everything you aspired to be, and he helped you obtain that goal! If there's anyone who ought to be his lifelong partner…"

"Robin has already had a lifelong partner!" shouted Rage in agreement. "I chose Robin long ago, and now Robin will choose me!" Then Rage grabbed the Robin figurine and moved it into the Eros circle, despite Happy's cries of protest. As the sky darkened and the fissures in the ground grew larger, Rage swiped up the Starfire figurine.

"Robin and I were made for each other," Rage growled angrily, "and he chooses you? You may have shared bodies with Robin, but we have shared minds! I won't let anyone get in the way of what I deserve, especially my friends!"

Rage squeezed the figurine and as it started to crack, Brave Raven showed up and kicked it out of Rage's hand. Brave caught the figurine and stood up straight across from Rage, all the other emoticlones behind her except for Gray Raven.

"Nobody hurts my friends, especially me!" she proclaimed.

"Very well," said Rage. "I guess it's time again to show you that I'm right. But this time, I have support."

She then offered her hands to Gray Raven and Scarecrow. Gray Raven apologized as she clasped Rage's hand, while Scarecrow could barely hold back his joyous laughter. As a whirlwind of black magic spun around them, Scarecrow pulled out a bomb full of his fear toxin.


	21. Cold Feet

In the highest floor of the Cyberwear International skyscraper, just beneath the state-of-the-art satellite dish, Michael Holt finished adjusting the controls before pulling the final switch. About 50 feet to his right, Cyborg was strapped to a chair with his head plugged into a supercomputer, which in turn was connected directly to the satellite dish. A health bar of sorts appeared on the screen in front of Michael, and the text above it read, "Consciousness Transfer". The bar quickly filled from 0 to 100 percent, and upon completion, all the lights turned off, and Cyborg was released from his high-tech computer chair.

 

 

 

"So, how goes the war?" asked Michael.

"Oh, it's gotten pretty standard at this point," replied Cyborg, speaking in a tone that was much more gruff and serious than the way he usually talked.

"Still, can you really risk a 24-hour absence?" asked Michael, pointing to the timer that had started on the screen.

"This is the most important day in Robin's life," replied Cyborg. "Nothing in the universe is going to stop me from missing it."

/

Starfire stared into the mirror of her dressing room, not minding her Tamaranean maids as they put on the finishing touches to her traditional wedding dress. She had always seen this as being the happiest day of her life, but she felt noting but nervousness.

"You look gorgeous!" exclaimed Wonder Girl, walking in wearing her Bridesmaid garments. "Olympus itself couldn't craft a holier sight!"

"Wonder Girl, am I doing the right thing?" Starfire asked earnestly.

"What? Of course, you are!" encouraged Wonder Girl. "You are marrying the man you are in love with! That is the rightest thing anyone could do!"

"Yes, but is this what is best? Since my people have started working for Mr. Holt, things have been peaceful between us, but there are those who still wish to distrust us simply because we are different. No matter what good things we do, there are still those who use the not nice words about us. And Robin has forgotten all about wanting to be normal, only wanting to be a hero and congratulating me for being a good queen. But heroes do not have the good romance, and queens of Tamaran do not marry for love. Will this … not work out?"

"Hey, no crying until after the ceremony!" answered Wonder Girl, taking out a makeup kit to wipe away the tears that had started to run down Starfire's cheeks. "Things have been all topsy-turvy for the past few months, but if your love truly is genuine, and I know it is, then you will work something out. It's going to be difficult, but that's part of being an adult, no matter what responsibilities we have. So, follow your heart and…"

"But Wonder Girl, I do not know if I am following my heart! The sooner this wedding becomes, the more I question if I am doing all of this because I want to or because I have to."

"Well, certainly you have to, but wouldn't you be doing all this even without all the inter-species politics going on? Remember how happy you were when Robin proposed? Doesn't he make you feel a certain way that nobody else ever does?"

"Is that not how you and great champion Supergirl felt? And did she not feel the same way for our friend Oracle once as well?"

"Yes, that's true."

"On Tamaran, grimgorfs are grimgorfs for life," continued Starfire, "but here it may only be for a certain amount of time. I am worried that Robin and I will not be forever, and I have already thought of chasing the heart of someone else."

"What? Who?"

"It's Oracle," Starfire confessed. "I enjoy spending our time off together, but the more I am with her, the more I like in her what I like about Robin and I feel that I am attracted the same way. And last week when we were at the swimming pool, I put on sunglasses in hopes that she wouldn't notice me staring at her fit, shiny body covered in the one-piece. But then when I went swimming, I got out of the pool in hopes that she would stare at me, and felt disappointed when she quickly looked away and…"

Starfire held back tears in shame.

"Even as queen of my people, all I want is a normal life, but I know Robin will never allow that. He has to keep moving, keep fighting, keep rescuing, and never stop being a hero, because that's who he is! Oracle is the same, but she can do that and stay safe, so we both can worry less!"

Wonder Girl put a hand on each of Starfire's cheeks and turned her head so that they were looking eye-to-eye.

"Kory, Robin may have broken hearts before, but he is also a man who learns from his mistakes. He never gives up what he starts, and if he intends to start a life with you, than he will finish it! Remember when he said that he'd break both his legs if it meant the only way he could stay with you? Robin hails from the Bat, and no student of the Bat would ever say something they never meant! So, instead of worrying about a possible future, focu on today, the happiest day of your..."

Before Wonder Girl could finish, they were both startled by a loud bang from behind. They turned around to see that Raven (in a gothic-inspired Maid of Honor dress) had knocked over a hatstand and was pressing one hand against the wall and the other against her chest, breathing heavily in pain. Starfire quickly rushed over and gently put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Raven, what is wrong?"

"It's … just a little headache!" answered Raven.

"Is that all? You have been acting strange since you agreed to be my Maid of Honor. You seemed happy, but ever since you have been running away from me and making strange sounds from your room."

"Don't worry, it's just … nervousness. This is the happiest day of your life, and I don't want to mess it up!"

"Oh, but you are my friend! You could never mess this up, and if you did, then we would just send the video to that Funniest Home Recordings show and make everyone laugh!"

Raven then started to breathe normally, stood up straight and smiled. "You're right. As your friend, I want nothing best the best for you!" Then she unexpectedly hugged Starfire, who blushed at first, but then happily hugged back.

Then Starfire could feel her phone vibrating. She pulled it out from between her breasts and answered it.

"Hey Star! It's Oracle. I'm sorry I couldn't make it today; I have a special appointment about the baby."

"Do not worry, sweet Babs! When shall you finally give birth to your little child?"

"Oh, not for another three to four weeks. Say, do you know where you're going to honeymoon?"

"Well, Beast Boy proposed that we should bring scores of beehives onto New Tamaran to pollinate our flowers and make alien honey, but that did not sound romantic," Starfire answered, not realizing the obvious joke.

"OK. Well, there's something about the baby I'd like you to know."

/

"You're putting your baby up for adoption?" asked a shocked Robin, wearing a tuxedo over his Nightwing costume.

"Yup, already got the paperwork taken care of."

"But you'd make a great mom!"

"You're probably right. But I'm in no shape to be raising a kid right now. Besides, adoption worked out great for you and Wonder Girl. But don't worry; Bruce is definitely not gonna get the kid!"

Robin chucked at that. "Well, I wish your child the best life."

"And I wish the same for you and Starfire!"

"Thanks. Take care, Babs!"

"You too, Dick!"

Oracle hung up and rolled her wheelchair over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and reached underneath her old Batgirl costume to pull out a diary with a pink cover and a sparkly red valentine heart on the cover. This was her precious Love Journal that she had started back in middle school, and started skimming through it, reading numerous entries it to commemorate her true love on this day.

"Today I met a new student in IT class – Dick Grayson. He's cute, and a fast learner. Turns out, we're the only students in all the honor classes, and we both take martial arts as extracurriculars. Oh, and he attends my self-defense class. I think this is a sign."

"Super excited to go over to Dick's house for a study date. Super shocked to learn that he was adopted by Bruce Wayne!"

"OK Diary, this is between you and me, OK? Turns out, Dick and Bruce are the Caped Crusaders, and they're letting me join! I'm gonna be a crime-fighter!"

Several pages were full of girlish drawings of writing out her name with Dick's, and practicing writing out her name as Barbara Grayson. Then things started to get serious.

"My dad decided to give me 'the talk' today. I honestly don't remember much, but I do remember how it ended: "Barbara sweety, there are only two things you can lose and never get back - your life and your virginity. If you're going to lose either, it better be for someone worth it". Dick is that someone."

"Today Dick and I rode our motorbikes into the Batcave after a long fight with Penguin and his goons. We stripped down in front of the other, helped bandage the other up, touched each other and …. I gave him my first kiss and my virginity. It was wonderful. The incredible, heavenly warmth of Dick holding me against him in his arms – I hope he never lets go."

She sighed as she flied to some entry two years after that.

"Why, Dick? Why did you have to break my heart?" The rest of the page was covered in dried-up tear stains, while the next dozen pages were filled with angry scribblings about how much she hated her ex-boyfriend for breaking up with her.

"Kara flew all the way from Metropolis to comfort me. I never realized just how great a friend she is, and just now am I seeing how beautiful she is."

"Well, I'm officially a lesbian. I never thought Kara could both be so gentle! I feel so much better knowing that I have her to protect me!"

"Today was ... one bad day."

"Kara came to see, in tears while apologizing that she wasn't there to protect me. Robin also came, and he remembered that orchids are my favorite flower, and encouraged by saying that I didn't need my legs to fight crime. He said that what he always loved about me was my brain, and that's all I needed. He did is best not to cry at the sight of me, and as he pressed my hand against his cheek, I realized that I never stopped loving him."

"I overheard Dick and Bruce arguing in the hallway. Dick says he's had enough of Bruce, of Gotham, and is leaving for good. It's about time. I don't want him ending up like Bruce."

"Well, now Dick and I have something in common. I broke Kara's heart.  I'm truly sorry, but I can't be another pawn for another lunatic trying to hurt someone I love."

"Dick is doing well for himself in Jump City. Got to be the new leader of a team called the Teen Titans. From the looks of it, he's turning out to be a more likeable version of Bruce."

"Dick has talked an awful lot about a fellow teammate, an alien chick named Starfire. It's clear from the way he talks about her that he likes her, since it's the same way he used to talk about me. I hope he's grown smarter since our break-up."

"I saw the photos from Tokyo today. It seems Dick and Starfire are officially a couple. I feel nothing but happiness for Dick. In fact, the more I listen to how he brags about her, and the more I stare at her in photographs, the more I find myself attracted to her too. He's a lucky man."

"Dick is finally gonna propose to Starfire. After they wed, he says that the city is gonna be clean of freaks so that they can finally a normal life. This is exactly what I wanted, and ironically what Bruce also wanted."

"Still, I can't ignore the chance the Dick will break her heart like he did mine. I won't let that happen. I'm moving to Jump City for the rest of my plan. Donna's moved in as my roommate.  She was Kara's partner against crime and in bed, but now she's dating a guy from Star City named Roy. It's great to have a friend again."

"Starfire came over today. She is a great friend, and has the loveliest body that I have ever seen. Had she not fallen for Dick, I would risk asking her out. But she is the one Dick has fallen for, and I must make sure they stay together, no matter the cost."

 


	22. A Wedding and Many Funerals

The day of Robin and Starfire's wedding had finally come.

The roof of Titans Tower had been decorated like the interior of an outdoor wedding pavilion, complete with seating and an altar. Civilian guests – all close acquaintances with the Titans – were flown in via helicopter (at least those who couldn't fly) along with numerous media reporters. Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen both received a personal escort from Supergirl. Soon after they arrived, an entourage from New Tamaran flew down from the sky, and greeted their fellow guests with handshakes and a few gentle hugs, as they had learned was the Earth custom. The handshake to receive the most press coverage was between the Reverend MacDuffie and the High Priestess of X'Hal, both leaders of their people's faiths and had agreed to the proceedings of the ceremony, uniting not just two lovers in eternal matrimony but two peoples in eternal friendship.

Once the guests, press, and religious figures had taken their spots, the Groomsmen marched onto the roof – Aqualad, Speedy, Kid Flash, Beast Boy, and Best Man Cyborg, all dressed up in their Sunday best. Right behind them came Robin, now known to the world as Nightwing, looking as every bit the dream hunk that every teen magazine had made him out to be. After taking his rightful place on the altar, he felt a massive hand upon his shoulder and turned to face Cyborg.

"Hey, I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you and everything you've become."

"Um, thanks!" replied Robin awkwardly.

Then came the line of Bridesmaids – Argent, Jinx, Bumblebee, Wonder Girl, and Maid of Honor Raven. Beast Boy smiled lewdly as he started to rate the attractiveness, and then felt his heart race upon seeing Raven. "Is that … really Raven? Why did I never see she was that beautiful before?" he asked himself.

While trying to catch his breath, Raven started to stumble and collapsed to the ground. As Beast Boy rushed to block the paparazzi from viewing her embarrassment, Wonder Girl and Bumblebee helped her get back on her feet.

"Are you sure your up for this?" asked Wonder Girl earnestly.

"Yes, I'm fine," answered Raven as she picked her bouquet back up. "I want to do this. I must do this. Everything is fine."

Everyone returned to their proper places as the bridesmaids finished lining up. Melvin walked down the aisle as the flower girl, followed by Timmy as the ringbearer and Teether carrying Silkie on his favorite pillow.

Then the human keyboardist began playing "Here Comes by Bride" with a small Tamaranean orchestra providing flute-based backup music that blended in perfectly. Starfire came onto the roof and made her way down the aisle, with two preteen Tamaranean girls carrying the train of her royal dress behind her. She took her rightful place at the altar, and Robin did the customary Earth tradition and lifted the veil covering her angelic face. She was clearly still nervous, but happy nonetheless.

The High Priestess of X'Hal began the ceremony, speaking in her native tongue. After each sentence, Reverend MacDuffie would preach an interpretation of what the priestess had just said, which thankfully managed to match perfectly into the standard "Dearly Beloved" speech one would find at a standard wedding.

As Robin and Starfire exchanged wedding vows, Raven started to shake with anger. She tried her best to hide it, but her shivering became more extreme with each passing second. Deep within her mind, the combined being of Rage, Gray Raven, and Scarecrow was winning in their fight, deepening the fissures in the mental landscape and reddening the sky like a sea of blood.

"How marvelous!" Scarecrow exclaimed in his triumph. "Until now, I never imagined that I would witness a mind tearing itself apart from the inside!"

Everyone was so focused on the ceremony that only those right next to Raven notice her spasms growing so powerful that she lost her posture, dropped her bouquet, and clasped her hands against her face to restrain her growls. As Wonder Girl turned to notice her and Argent reached out in help, Raven heard the last straw:

"And now for the exchanging of the rings."

Raven looked up and stared in absolute terror as she watched her two friends slip on their wedding rings. What should have been a moment of true happiness was instead one where her entire being was overtaken by jealousy.

"Everything about me, even my stupid hero name, it was all done because I idolized you!" shouted Rage from within her mind, emerging victorious from the fight. "I am the only one who deserves to be wearing the same ring as you!"

"Yes, that's right!" agreed Scarecrow, sitting upon a throne of skulls that were stretched out to make the illusion that they were screaming. "But it seems that he, that nobody, will be giving you the love that you so rightly deserve!" he remarked as he transformed the landscape into a dead crop field inhabited by red-eyed skeleton birds.

"If you will not give me your love," Rage proclaimed, "then I will just have to take your fear!"

Raven screamed upward as her body started levitating, her body surrounded by an aura of black magic. Everyone present was terrified of this sight, but could only stare as the demon grew possessed by a mad human. Once she stopped screaming, Raven looked down with four glowing red eyes, indicating Rage had officially taken over. She pressed her fingertips together, and a ball of red lightning formed between her hands. Once it had grown the size of a large apple, she yelled in pure anger as she fired the lightning at Starfire.

However, the Reverend had sensed this demonic evil and had put his arms in front of the newlyweds. When Raven's lightning fired, he jumped in front of Starfire just time to be struck, transforming into a statue that quickly cracked and crumbled into a thousand pieces. As Raven prepared a second attack, she was hit by a sonic scream from Timmy, knocking her away from the wedding guests. This was followed by Supergirl flying towards Raven, but she was quickly brought down by a beam of demonic magic from Raven's eyes. Bumblebee and Argent both attacked Raven from behind, and distracted her long enough for Wonder Girl to lasso her and drag her down to the tower roof. As Raven started to stand up, Beast Boy transformed into a Chinese dragon and bound her up with his snake-like form. Raven prepared another magic attack, but stopped when further restraints were placed on her by Jinx. Finally, Speedy fired an arrow that struck Raven in between her neck and her left shoulder, causing her magic to subdue, her eyes to close and her body to go limp.

Beast Boy turned back into his human form and laid Raven's body down on the ground. "Please tell me you didn't kill her!" he begged Speedy as he was rushing over.

"Don't worry, it's a non-lethal knock-out poison," he assured. "What the hell was that?"

"Something's inside of her! I could feel it!" answered Beast Boy in a desperate manner.

"It's true," verified Wonder Girl, placing her hand on Raven's forehead. "Someone or something truly malevolent has corrupted her mind. It's going to take great deal of magic to solve this."

"She'll have to come to Atlantis," advised Aqualad, who was just joining them. "All things considered, she is the most powerful magical being on the planet. It would take a team of the world's greatest magic practitioners to drive out whatever evil has possessed her. Atlantis has many great masters of magic, but I honestly don't know if…"

"You have to do it!" cried Beast Boy, literally begging on his knees. "You have to bring Raven back!"

Meanwhile the rest of the Titans were doing their best to quell the chaos that had no erupted among the wedding guests. Robin and Cyborg were both annoyed that they had to constantly order the cameramen to stop recording. Starfire doing her best to comfort all the children present. The most traumatized were Melvin, Timmy, and Teether, who were in tears at seeing their former babysitter turn into a hellish monster.

"Yes, I know that friend Raven looked very scary just know…"

But then Raven noticed something odd about Silkie (who was being grasped in desperation by Teether): he did not look terrified at all. In fact, he looked as happy as he normally did. Starfire had constantly told Silkie to be brave after he had crawled under the covers during a thunderstorm or snuck underneath the sofa while watching a horror movie; she knew that there is no way Silkie would have been calm after an incident like this.

"May I please see my Silkie?" she asked Teether.

Teether complied, and Starfire held up Silkie's face to her own.

"You do not feel like Silkie," she realized. "You are not Silkie!"

Then she noticed how his eyes kept looking to the left and then right, repeatedly. She grabbed one eye and tore it out, pulling out wires and microchips, revealing "Silkie" to be a robotic double.

In horror, Starfire dropped the robotic fake and yelled out her precious pet's name. As everyone else covered their ears, Starfire quickly flew down to the living quarters of the tower and began to search frantically for her pet.

Robin stared at the robotic Silkie in disbelief, and then noticed a zipper on its back, which would have been an obvious giveaway to anyone familiar with the mutant moth larva. Robin pulled back the zipper and gazed in absolute horror at what he saw inside.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, God please, NO!"


	23. The Bat's Brat's Bride

Arkham Asylum. Six hours before the wedding.

The building was every bit as bleak and dismal as it ever was. The only real difference was that thanks to new security measures bought from LexCorp, there was now less than a one percent chance of any inmate escaping. This may have been great news for the people of Gotham, but not so much for the asylum staff, who had to deal with every insane prisoner daily. Even with no chance of physical harm, there was something terrifying about being in the mere presence of every prisoner. The only thing worse than the horror of a potential breakout was the tiresomeness of ordering each patient through their daily routine.

As for the patients themselves, they had finally accepted that they were never escaping again – the first sane realization that any of them had. Many of them would go on through their routines in utter boredom, only occasionally scaring a staff worker to get a cheap thrill, and remember the glory days of when the Bat devoted his playtime to chasing them through the streets.

But there was one patient who had officially quit his life of sadistic fun. Every escape method had been foiled, and every legal loophole had been blocked. To add insult to injury, the doctors joyously reported that a brain tumor had spread throughout his body, and his days were finally coming to an end. Days that he could no longer spend smiling at the dreams he had shattered, or laughing at the nameless lives he had taken, or finally getting mean old Bats to prove his point.

He had accepted his fate, and spent his time lying on the bed in his cell, whistling happy tunes from days paced while glossing up at old photos of all the Caped Crusaders who has made his life worth living. But he still couldn't smile, not with the regret of failing to break all of them. His apathy was so strong that he didn't even notice the mirror of his sink began to glow a red light, and he paid no attention to the Red Lantern stepping into his cell with a file of documents in her hand.

"So, this is how it ends, is it?" she asked. "You spend your whole life trying to show the world what a cruel absurdity life, and life pays you back by giving you the worst punchline imaginable. All safely locked away, left alone to rot into obscurity, your amazing routines and one-liners and gags all left to be memories of a truly ungrateful public.

"But no matter how many smiles you gave to your audience, you never could deliver a proper comeback to your greatest heckler. Your entire career was focused on your greatest critic, and all he could do was scowl back at you. And hear you are, your last moments fast approaching, thinking about what would have been the perfect performance to bring his house down.

"It's not your fault, really. After all, you just never had the right opportunity." Then she threw the documents at the base of his bed and finished her revelation.

"I mean, what better way to break the Bat than to break the Bat's Brat?"

The patient turned away to show his disinterest. The Red Lantern continued.

"And what better way to break the Bat's Brat than to break the Bat's … Brat's … Bride?"

The patient quickly sprung up into a seating position and snatched the documents from the floor. He skimmed over records of everything Robin had done since leaving Gotham – found a new home, made new playmates, grown into a man…

… fallen in love …

… about to be married.

The patient started to chuckle.

The sides of his mouth slowly creeped up to a smile.

His chuckling turned to giggling.

His giggling turned to soft laughter.

His laughter grew louder and louder, as his smile grew larger and larger.

He threw the documents into the air and laughed hysterically at the ceiling, truly the happiest that he had been in years. So happy that he didn't mind the Red Lantern grabbing his favorite jacket from a coatrack, nor did he mind the Red Lantern throwing him over her shoulder and carrying him through the mirror. But before leaving, he did make sure to grab his dinner fork and jab it into a photo of Robin taped onto the wall.

/

It had been less than a minute, but Starfire had already searched the entire top floor of Titans Tower, and yet no sign of her beloved Silkie. However, she did notice that the door to the basement had been left open. She followed the stairways down to the lowermost level, and flew even faster when she heard the most horrible laughter she had ever heard.

She followed the laughs to a door, behind which she could hear strong electrical shocks accompanying the laughter, flashing a bright blue light that emitted from around the door's edges. She tore the door off its hinges and found her beloved Silkie.

He was being held in the air, screeching in pain from long exposure to electric torture from murderous shock buzzers in white gloved hands that proceeded to tear him two. His larva blood dripped onto the grotesque laughing face beneath him – bleached skin, long green hair, and hideous red eyes.

Starfire froze in terror at the unthinkable evil in front of her. She never the Mirror Gun strapped over his right wrist. She never noticed that over his orange Arkham jump suit he was wearing a LexCorp prototype vest, nor did she see that he was wearing his favorite custom jacket, with a yellow flower on its left breast and a compact mirror on its right breast.

In the Mirror Dimension, Gamesmaster looked at her helpless, petrified face with a gleeful, sadistic smile, and proclaimed the words that not even his most wonderful dreams could accomplish:

"Crown Princess of Tamaran … meet The Clown Prince of Crime!"


	24. One Bad Day

Robin dropped the robotic Silkie and began begging every Titan and Tamaranean to find Starfire, leaving and moving on to the next before he or she could have a chance to answer. Supergirl managed to stop him, still weakened from Raven's attack but still having the strength to stand.

"Calm down, Robin! What's wrong with…" Then she noticed the object that he was holding – a Joker playing card taken from the robotic zipper – and her face became as horrified as his.

Before either one could react, an explosion rocked the base of Titans Tower, shaking the entire structure and throwing all the wedding guests to their feet. Several Tamaraneans flew over the edge to investigate, and they witnessed a nonstop barrage of green starbolt explosions burst through the lowest floor of the Tower, causing a plethora of cracks to spring up across the exterior of the Tower. Seconds later, it was inevitably clear that the Tower was going to be ripped apart.

The sides of the top floor were the first to collapse, taking the helicopters used to transport human guests with them. As the roof continued to crumble beneath them, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, Speedy and Aqualad immediately started to bark evacuation orders. Tamaraneans gathered as many humans as they could while the flying Titans grabbed the rest along with their non-flying comrades. Beast Boy transformed into a griffon and carried away Raven's unconscious body just as the ground was about to fall. Cyborg managed to safely secure Melvin, Timmy and Teether in his arms, as the three children had all become paralyzed with trauma.

As the last remaining parts of the roof collapsed, the Tamaraneans looked on in horror as the wedding that would have united them with their neighbors in friendship literally fell into ruins. Robin and Beast Boy were left speechless as their home crumbled to pieces, and the Honorary Titans had nothing but disbelief at the destruction of what had been the symbol of their friendship, teamwork, and devotion to justice. The humans, who had grown so used to the Titans being able to solve any problem, honestly could not see how they would emerge the victors in this.

The last bit of the Tower finally collapsed, leaving the massive "T" now degenerated to what could best be described as a lowercase "I". The Titans and Tamaraneans all brought their non-flying counterparts safely to the ground. Then all of them stared speechless at the mound of rubble at the center of the island.

They were all naturally shocked when a massive starbolt came piercing through what was left standing of the Tower, slamming a humanoid figure against a massive chunk of rubble. Robin and Jimmy Olsen were among those closest, and Jimmy got a great video recording of the culprit's identity, confirming all of Robin's worst nightmares.

Thanks to the prototype LexCorp force field vest he was wearing, Joker was safely sandwiched between the rubble behind him and the perpetual starbolt torrent in front of him. He mocked his alien attacker, bursting out his trademark laugh of insanity while having his arms around in a childish fashion. However, the prototype vest ultimately reached its strain limit, and flash a red light to indicate that it was powering down. Joker's laugh turned into a gasp of shock as the force field vanished and the starbolt onslaught blasted him through the rubble and dragged him through the ground until he was ten feet away from the edge of the island.

Joker knew that half of his bones had been broken, even though he had no feeling throughout his body, and could only just barely move his arms. He opened his eyes to see the vengeful alien queen towering over him in her tarnished wedding dress. She grabbed him by the collar and yanked his face, half-covered in the blood of her deceased pet, and yanked his face up to hers. Starfire gritted her teeth and growled with rage, her eyes glowing green with vengeance to deliver the killing blow.

In the clear face of a well-deserved demise, Joker smiled.

With the remaining strength in his left arm he squirted gas from his corsage into Starfire's face – a special variant of his laughing gas, made especially for her kind and at nine times the normal concentration. Simultaneously, with the strength left in his right hand, he caught her head off guard and pushed it to his left, causing her starbolts to miss him while her face was well bathed in Joker toxin.

Starfire dropped Joker and coughed while grabbing her throat while she was choking. Then, without warning, a red light shone down and formed a ball around her and the laughing gas cloud, The ball constricted around her head, forcing her to breath in every molecule of gas.

The red light then started to drag Starfire upward, with her desperately trawling to claw free from its grasp. When everyone else looked up, they saw clearly that the source of the light was a Red Lantern, and Wildfire immediately knew which one she was.

"That's her. The one who killed Galfore. The one who led the attack on Tamaran. The one who destroyed our culture. It's her!"

He immediately flew up to do battle, and the other Tamaraneans quickly followed his lead. But they proved to be just as ineffective as before, as the Red Lantern succeeded in brushing off their attacks as if they were mere flies. Supergirl, Wonder Girl, Bumblebee, and Argent tried to rescue Starfire, but their efforts were equally ineffective.

While Wonder Girl tried to pry the ball of red light open with her bare hands, she thought she heard Starfire giggle. Wonder Girl found her strength weakening as she grew more horrified but what she saw. Starfire's giggling grew louder, and then turned into soft laughter, which then grew louder and more insanely terrifying. At the same time, her teeth grew yellow and her mouth began to take on the permanent shape of a victim of Joker laughing gas. The sight and sound of this petrified Wonder Girl, who was quickly taken down by a bolt of red light.

Wildfire fought the most valiantly, but was still no match for the Red Lantern. Yet rather than strike him down as well, he was instead bound by red light, forced to watch his sister, no laughing mad, brought up to face the Red Lantern herself. The Red Lantern removed the red-light mask of her face and laughed hysterically along with Starfire, and Wildfire could only stare in horrifying shock at the reason why.

"You? How … how could you?"

As the Red Lantern finished laughing, she raised Starfire above her head, and gave her declaration of victory before throwing her straight to her doom on the island below:

"I won't forget this … SISTER DEAR!"


	25. "I've Proven My Point!"

While everyone else stared at the massive dust cloud created by the impact, Robin rushed straight towards into it, not minding the dirt saturating his eyes and mouth. When the dust settled, he found himself at the base of the crater, standing over the unconscious body of his beloved wife for less than five minutes. Immediately, he had a flashback to the moment when he realized his parents were dead, murdered by a brutal fall from a cut trapeze wire. He got down on his knees and picked up her body, cradling her and begging her not to suffer the same fate. 

But it was no use. Behind her heavenly red hair, he could see her lifeless face no mutilated into the crown trophy of his mentor's greatest adversary. Every action he took – the cradling, the begging the weeping – was only met with another flashback from the first time he had lost his family. He refused to accept this outcome a second time, no matter the obvious truth. 

Finally, just before Starfire gave her last heartbeat, her body glowed purple with Raven's friendship spell. A flash of deep violet light later, her body had vanished away, leaving behind only her torn warning dress and her tarnished crown. Robin finally accepted the grim reality of all that had happened, and he screamed skyward in absolute despair. 

Directly above him, Blackfire let out a terrifying laughter of triumph, so strong that it sent sonic waves for a full mile around, all the while red lightning blasted from her body, electrifying the still-bound Wildfire. Her laughter ended with a flash of red light from her lantern ring, and she vanished along with it, but not before grabbing an unconscious Raven with a massive chain whip from her ring. Wildfire was left floating in the air, still trying to comprehend the nightmarish cruelty that his own beloved sister had just performed. 

Wildfire looked down gasped in further disbelief at his human brother-in-law clutching at Starfire's royal wedding garments, all that had remained of his precious sister. Robin's sobbing was drowned by maniacal laughter, coming from the same monster clown who had just committed the most grievous murder in the history of both present species. 

Wildfire's shock turned to rage, and he torpedoed down towards the Joker, blasting starbolts all around him. As other Tamaraneans began to ready their attacks as well, Cyborg rushed towards the Joker, and tossed him towards what was left standing of Titans Tower. Wildfire continued his sloppy attacks, but Cyborg kept grabbing the Joker and tossing him again, ultimately throwing him through a hole that Cyborg himself jumped through. Wildfire fired at the hole, but struck above it instead, causing all that was left of the Tower to crumble down. Wildfire remained floating in the air, his rage unsatisfied. 

As the last of the rubble collapsed, Cyborg pulled Joker away from the falling debris, getting both into the lowest part of the Tower's foundation. When all was quiet, Cyborg turned on his flashlight, and Joker broke the silence with more laughter, his mouth being the only part of his body that he could still move. 

"Batsy! It's been far too long! I knew you requested pictures, but I never thought you'd get an actual invite!" he exclaimed. Cyborg stood up and stared down at him with a stern look trying to hide the shock. 

"Oh, I know it's you!" Joker continued. "Don't have the faintest idea how, but it has to be! Whose else so incorruptibly noble would save someone so reprehensibly vile as myself?" 

Cyborg stood in silence for a few seconds, then grabbed Joker by the neck and pinned him against a nearby wall built as part of the foundation. After choking him for a while, the Dark Knight finally asked in defeat: 

"Why?" 

"Why?! Oh, Batsy, Batsy, Batsy!" snickered Joker back at him. "You cheated! Your whole life is nothing but a joke. Everyone in Gotham wants to be like you, except you! Your sick place in this sick world is a necessary evil; certainly, not the life you'd wish for your son!" 

Cyborg's eyes tightened with anger. 

"But he wanted to be like you so bad!" Joker continued. "So, you pushed him away, like you pushed away anyone who reached out to you, but you purposefully upset him the hardest. Made him so fed up that he left to get his own act. And in doing so, you made sure he would move to a safe little place where he could have his playtime but finally grow up to have everything that you know you could never have. 

"Real friends. Real falling in love. Real family!" 

Cyborg's composure didn't change. But Joker knew better, and broadened his smile to crack through the dried larva blood on his face. 

"Cheater! Happy endings aren't how we play the game!" 

Cyborg let go of the Joker, letting him slouch onto the ground as he giggled. He took five steps back, opened the beam cannon on his right hand, and aimed it at Joker's head. 

"Game over!" he growled in despair. "You win!" 

Joker smiled wide at the inescapable blue light gunning straight for him, and managed to get one final shriek of victory before the Cyborg's cannon blasted his head into nothingness. 

Right as the smoke cleared from the execution, the timer in Mr. Holt's skyscraper reached zero. Cyborg immediately powered down. Back at Intergang headquarters, Gamesmaster stepped from the Mirror Dimension into his own room, in complete amazement at what he had just seen through the compact mirror on Joker's jacket. He grabbed a black permanent marker and began writing in huge letters all over the photographs of do-gooders that he had plastered on his wall: 

"I DID IT!" 

After a minute of silence, Cyborg's lifeless body sprung back into action with his normal consciousness. 

"Boo-yah! Now, that's some great alien food right there!" he shouted. Then he realized he was back in his own body, and terribly confused at why his flashlight sowed that he was surrounded by the rubble of the Tower built by his own father. Then he stepped on something, and looked down to see the headless corpse of the Joker, and a hole in the ground near the neck that could only have been made by his arm cannon. 

Cyborg shrieked in horror, and quickly looked up all the local newsfeeds. Seconds later, and his human eye was in tears. 


	26. Freudian Excuse

The Tamaranean Royal Palace. Fourteen years earlier.

Starfire sprung out of her bed and flew around her room, repeatedly yelling with delight, "Mom and dad are coming home!" She flew into Blackfire's room next door, and her big sister grunted in annoyance of being woken up from a peaceful sleep.

"Come and wake up, sister dear!" exclaimed Starfire, shaking her like a rattle until her eyes fully opened. "Today is the day mommy and daddy come back to see us!" She happily flew around the room several more times before leaving, and Blackfire scoffed back with jealousy.

Starfire slowly opened the door to Galfore's room, and slowly tiptoed across the air to not wake up her infant brother. She whispered her caretaker's name twice into his ear, and he responded with a soft snore.

"Time to wake up! Mommy and daddy come home today!"

"Yes, mommy and daddy … king and queen … The King and Queen?!" Galfore shouted that last part, prompting Wildfire to wake up crying. Starfire flew over to her brother and tried to comfort him, but Galfore instructed her to get on her best royal garments.

Just before mid-day, the King and Queen of Tamaran arrived with the royal army behind them, having emerged victorious over the latest Gandorian invasion. The monarchs were on their way to deliver a victory speech, but were greeted by their children first.

Galfore gave the proper royal prostration, and Starfire and Blackfire followed suit. Wildfire had just learned how to walk, so his head needed to be gently tilted down by Galfore's hand.

"Your royal majesties," said Galfore, "the great almighty X'Hal has truly blessed us to have such wise and courageous leaders as you. May you continue to…"

"MOMMY!" shouted Starfire, launching into the air and tackling the Queen with a hug, sending them both flying a good 20 feet into the air. Galfore looked nervous, expecting the royal couple to scold their daughter for acting out of line, but was relieved when the Queen came back down to the ground hugging Starfire back with a smile on her face. Then the Queen realized that she was breaking tradition, and her smile turned to a stern look.

"Koriand'r, it is wonderful that X'Hal has blessed you with a great heart overflowing with love, but you must not forget the place that you have been given amongst our people."

Starfire regrettably let go of her mother and stood up straight on the air to look both her parents in the eye. "I am sorry, but … is that not how normal people love their families?"

"X'Hal did not create us to be normal," explained the King. "She created us to be leaders, and speaking of, how is the Crown Princess Komand'r?"

He looked down at Blackfire, who still regained her straight royal posture. "I am well, father," she said as though she recited it by memory. "I praise X'Hal for your safe return."

The King smiled in response. "So, are you going to show me how much better you can fly now?"

Both Starfire and Galfore drew looks of concern, but Blackfire merely replied with a blunt, "Yes."

After the victory speech, the throne room was set up for the royal daughters to demonstrate their gain in ability since last year. Starfire was truly exceptional, passing new flight records with every rotation she made around the room, and blowing up targets shaped like Gandorian with her starbolts with near-perfect accuracy and precision. When she was finished, Starfire landed in front of her parents, expecting to get a celebratory hug. As she started to extend her arms in preparation, her parents both just stood and applauded, bragging about how she was better than either of them at her age.

Disappointed, Starfire still smiled and flew to her sister, who had a look of extreme nervousness as her name was being called.

"Do not worry, sister dear!" encouraged Starfire. "All you must do is feel the joy of flight! You may think of your tastiest food, or your favorite musical melody, or the thought of putting a Gandorian head on a spear! Then after, you must feel the raging fury! Think of when baby Wildfire broke your klimgorg doll, or a day without the sun shining!"

"Koriand'r, that is enough," ordered Galfore. "Komand'r, please show the King and Queen what you can do."

Blackfire walked into the center of the throne room and did – nothing. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how happy or angry she felt, she couldn't so much as hover a millimeter off the ground, nor could a spark of starbolt emit from her hands.

"How very disappointing," declared the King.

"Your Majesty, sir…"

"Silence, Galfore! We have been tolerating this problem for far too long!" The King stood up and glared down at his eldest child. "It's been enough that you had to be born with your cursed black hair on the day the Gondorians first attacked.  As a royal child of Tamaran, it is an embarrassment and a disgrace that you have not mastered the most basic skills at your current age. Thus, I decree that the title of Heir to the Throne will be given to your sister, Koriand'r. At least she shows clear signs of growing into the symbol of strength that our people need to continue our endurance!"

Blackfire gave no reaction to this, but Starfire was clearly hurt by this scolding. She tried to speak to Blackfire, but she avoided everyone else for the rest of the day, going off to bed an hour early. Thinking of a way to cheer her up, Starfire remembered a bag of marbles (or at least like what would be called marbles on Earth) that she had gotten as a ground-based game the two of them sometimes played outside. When other noble children came near, Starfire would ask them if they would like to play as well, but they only scolded Blackfire for not being able to fly yet. Starfire would then chase them away for being mean to her sister, while Blackfire would just stare at the ground and try not to cry.

Starfire went into Blackfire's room, and found her sister sitting on her bed and looking out the window at all the other Tamaraneans happily flying about. Starfire dropped the bag on the bed and offered to play, but Blackfire said nothing.

"Don't listen to what father said," advised Starfire, "because father is wrong. You are not embarrassing or a disgrace. You're my sister! You're smart and fun and cool and brave, and your black hair is lovely! You may not fly or shoot starbolts yet, but maybe you will someday. And if mom and dad never love you, I always will! You're my sister, and even if I become Queen, you'll still always be my sister!"

"I don't want to be your sister!" Blackfire angrily replied.

"What?" replied Starfire in shock.

"I said I don't to be your stupid sister!" Then Blackfire grabbed the marbles and beat Starfire on the head with hit, breaking open the bag and scattering them all over the floor.

"I want to be Queen! That is my birthright! That is the blessing of X'Hal that is rightfully mine! It's not fair that I can't fly or fight, and all the talent that should have been mine was given to you, you … blessing stealer!"

"Sister dear, please..."

"Shut up! Just shut your stupid, smiley, happy mouth already!"

Suddenly, Blackfire's hands glowed purple, and she blasted her sister to the ground. Starfire started to run to the door in terror, but was pelted against the wall by more violet starbolts. As Starfire ran of the room and cried out in pain, Blackfire chased her while flying through the hallway. As they approached Galfore's room, he burst his doors wide open and rushed over to Starfire, shielding her behind his body. He grabbed Blackfire and pinned her to the ground.

"Look at Koriand'r!" he ordered. "Look what you did to your sister!"

Blackfire did so. She saw Starfire lying on the floor and crying into her hands with starbolt bruises all over her body. Then she realized how happy this sight made her. Then she realized how happy it made her to make her sister like that. Happy enough to fly. Happy enough to laugh.

"What's so funny?" demanded Galfore.

Blackfire stopped laughing and looked at them both with a sadistic smile. "I finally feel it - raging fury; joy of flight. I won't forget this, sister dear!"

/

Starfire awoke in a cold sweat. The purple light blurred out her eyes, and it took a while before her vision readjusted to recognize Raven's design on the lamp of the purple ray just above her. This was the second time that she had ended up here: the first time was when she was mercilessly killed by her false friend Terra. Just like before, she was lying with her back on a stone table, her body magically regenerated from her soul, transported there thanks to her true friend's spell. The magic was even kind enough to have copied the clothes that she was last wearing.

But now there were two things different than before. The first time, she had awoken with her friends, and they all consoled each other on their likewise betrayal. But this time, she was alone, as she was the only person in the world to have suffered such painful cruelty.

The second was the state of her mind. Being betrayed by a friend is terrible, but it's possible to move on afterwards. But this, knowing just how deep the hatred her sister had run – destroying Tamaran, ruining her wedding, murdering her pet, poisoning her with that toxin…

And then there were the laughs. The laughs of that monster clown. The laughs of his poison coursing through her face, forcing her to scare away her friends. The laughs she shared with her sister, as she revealed that she had stolen every chance she had of finally having a normal life, and there was nothing she could do to stop everything else she loved from being destroyed.

How does one move on from that?


	27. Only Just Begun

Against, his wishes, Jimmy Olsen's video of the wedding disaster was automatically uploaded to the Daily Planet website, and stills showing the world's most infamous supervillain laughing in glee, fulfilling his greatest triumph in the last moments of his life. Oracle was still in shock from watching the live video, and stared at the online images in disbelief. Her composure didn't change as she answered her cell phone with a very faint hello. 

"Oracle, this is Commissioner Slack. You're needed down at the Jump City Police HQ.  And by the way, this is an executive order" 

Five minutes later, Oracle was outside her apartment and picked up by two police officers, who escorted her to a secret entrance in the rear of the city's main police station. Oracle was further escorted down three floors in an elevator and taken to meet the Commissioner standing in the middle of the largest computer server system that she had ever seen. 

"Miss Gordon, this is the HoltVac 3000, the largest supercomputer on the coast," he explained. "Only the world's best hackers and coders can operate it, and thankfully, you're one of them." 

"And what does the President want us to do with it?" 

Commissioner Slack turned to look at the picture of the Joker laughing while the force field vest was still active.  

"This is the only lead we have to find out how this happened. Supergirl has already taken an entourage back to Metropolis to interrogate Lex Luthor over the vest. Meanwhile, we also noted that there was a device on his wrist, that has been identified as a creation of Mirror Master." 

"So, you mean…" 

"Yes, the Titans' rogues have been traveling through mirrors. That's how they got the clown out, and the Scarecrow." 

"Scarecrow?" 

"Yes, we just discovered that he'd escaped and replaced by a hologram, no doubt through the mirror in his cell. More importantly, less than 20 minutes ago, Mirror Master gave himself in to the Central City police. He was disgusted by how his technology was used today, and thus he is sharing all of the available data on his devices so that we can track them through the Mirror Dimension.  However, his tech runs on its own programming language, far more complicated than most experts could follow.  Now, if only there was an expert among experts." 

"And that's what I'm here for." 

"Can you, do it?" 

Oracle pulled her hair behind her head and looked at the Commissioner with determination. "Let's get to work!" 

"Great to hear! Let me introduce you to your fellow teammates." 

The Commissioner led BOracle to a workstation where she met two other heartbroken individuals. The first was Cyborg, hunched over with his hands dangling over his lap. The other was an older, balding black man with an ID tag that read Dr. Stone. Babs quickly realized that she was seeing a father-son reunion. 

Whatever they needed to catch up on they had already discussed, and Dr. Stone was only focused on giving his son comfort. Placing one hand on Cyborg's shoulder, he held a small crucifix with rosary beads in the other, and was saying a prayer he hadn't said in years. When they were finished, Cyborg slowly looked and saw the legendary Oracle in front of him. 

"Um, Cyborg," Oracle began, "I heard about when they dug you out … did you do it?" 

Cyborg got down on his knees to look her in the eyes. 

"No. My body was the tool, but I had traded it at the time with … your mentor." 

"I see," Oracle realized. "I wish you luck in selling that to the jury." 

Cyborg chucked. "Like any jury is going to convict me! Now, as you said, let's get to work!" 

/ 

Aqualad took a rest searching through the ruins of Titans Tower once Wonder Girl, Jinx and Beast Boy flying towards him at the edge of the island. 

"We know how Raven went all crazy," revealed Jinx. 

"Yes, there's a good chance it was Scarecrow," continued Wonder Girl. "We just heard from Commissioner Slack that he had escaped from his cell. He had a rather creepy obsession with Raven when he attacked the fashion show." 

"And he did it with this!" concluded Beast Boy, showing Raven's mirror that he had just salvaged from the ruins of the Tower. "They got Scarecrow and Joker out of jail by jumping through mirrors, right? Well, this mirror goes straight into Raven's mind! Scarecrow got inside her head, and we need to get him out!" 

"Well, that theory does make sense," responded Aqualad, "but how can you enter her mind to make sure?" 

"Um, about that," answered Beast Boy. "Last time, I just looked at her mirror and it sucked me inside, but now, nothing's happening." 

"Yes, there seems to be some strong dark magic blocking any entry," further elaborated Wonder Girl. 

"Well, Raven's mind is its own dimension, right?" reasoned Aqualad. "Atlanteans priests have strong magic skills, but nothing like opening into another dimension. You might wanna get a hold of Herald; he has a knack for that kind of thing." 

"But he left with Supergirl," reminded Jinx. 

"Well, you'll just have to wait after the big battle." 

"Battle?" 

"Didn't Starfire's brother leave after performing the funeral song? What do you suppose is the only thing on his mind right now?"


	28. Metropolis Falls

Seconds after the world saw the Joker's last horrible deed, LexCorp Metropolis Headquarters went into the most extreme security protocols. Security guards rushed to put on their finest armor and strongest weapons, while every section was put into immediate lockdown, and every window was reinforced with a defensive electric field except for the one into Mercy Graves's office.

Not long after, Supergirl flew in with her entourage that included Bumblebee, Argent, and Herald. "Where is Luthor?" she angrily demanded.

"LexCorp is innocent!" Mercy claimed.

"Answer the question!"

"No, just look, here's the security footage from 2:36 this morning!"

Mercy turned her computer screen to show Gizmo emerging from a restroom while wearing a Mirror Gun on his wrest. After bypassing numerous security systems, he succeeded in stealing one of the prototype force field vests

"Security immediately realized the theft while it was in progress, but the thief was too quick! We had no idea he was using Mirror Master's technology until a detective down at the Metropolis station recognized the device on his wrist. That was just when the wedding started!"

"So, you are innocent? Well, that's actually quite a relief!"

Then the screen went black and the video was replaced by text that read, "File Removed by Order of ID#AC231940." Mercy read it out loud and exclaimed, "That's Luthor's security code!"

"Where is he!" shouted Supergirl, pounding on the desk so hard it cracked.

"Um, we have another problem," revealed Argent, pointing out the window at the mass of flying Tamaraneans outside the window. Floating in the front of the pack was Wildfire, bowing his head to not show his face, and holding the Royal Crown that had just belonged to his sister.

"You three, keep them calm!" ordered Supergirl. "Mercy, take me to Luthor!"

/

"There you are, Mr. Luthor, all of last night's security footage."

"Thank you, that will be all."

Lex abruptly yanked the hard drive out from the computer and rushed towards the elevator, only to be greeted by Mercy and Supergirl.

"Lex, what have you done with the security file? That proves the company's innocence!"

"Yes, and we would lose the prime opportunity to witness the true nature of our alien neighbors."

Supergirl stared at him in horrified shock. "Wait, so you actually want an entire army of angry aliens coming after your head?"

"No, just the heads of all the wage slaves underneath me. Now, if you don't mind, it's time for my escape."

Supergirl now stared at him with anger, and used her X-ray vision to locate the flash drives in his suit. She forcibly reached for them and pulled them out, but while doing so Lex flashed a kryptonite-powered laser-light from under his wrist, hitting her with the green poison in the chest.

"Oh, and I'm going to need someone to look after my tower while I'm gone, so let's make sure you stay here." Luthor than fired the kryptonite into Supergirl's chest.

As she fell to the ground screaming in pain, Lex grabbed back his drives and kept walking to the elevator.

Mercy rushed to Supergirl, who was trying to stand back up, and then ran with anger towards Lex. Before she could lay a hold in him, Lex spoke "XYV3" into his wrist watch, causing Mercy and all the other LexCorp employees to start writhing in pain due to a loyalty chip that had doubled as security clearance.

"You diseased maniac!" declared Supergirl. "Our alien neighbors are out for blood; wouldn't peace be in humanity's best interests?"

"No, making sure we have no alien neighbors is in humanity's best interests. Cheerio."

After activating a button on his watch that teleported him away, the building began to shake with explosions. After pulling the bullet out, Supergirl flew up through several floors and then only barely caught the massive LexCorp logo, and then noticed that the Tamaraneans were in a full-on battle with the building's laser-gun-wielding security. Bumblebee, Argent, and Herald were busy saving as many employees as they could but were often firing back at their enraged enemy.

Supergirl spotted Wildfire making it passed the lasers and grabbing a helpless employee, pinning him up against a nearby wall, using the Royal Crown to keep his head up straight.

"The devil who killed my sister was wearing the mark of your people," he explained gravely, without a hint of emotion in his eyes. "For shedding the blood of a royal, all of your blood must be shed!"

"No, please, don't! I have a family!"

"Really, then they can share my suffering."

Before he could do anything, Supergirl blasted Wildfire away and beat him away from LexCorp Tower using the LexCorp logo, then she gave her entourage the upper hand by using similar tactics to send the rest of the Tamaraneans back into the air.

"Is this what you Tamaraneans call love?" shouted Supergirl, still carrying the LexCorp logo.

"Yes, we believe strongly in love," replied Wildfire, putting on the crown to declare himself as the new King of Tamaran. "But one cannot have love without hate, and I must say, my sister was a fool for loving anything in this world!"

"Wildfire, I know that you're angry, but …"

"And even now, the hero protects the murderer. I wanted to love this place, and we all did, but I should have dragged my sister away from this place the moment the moment I saw her black-haired mate!"

"What?"

"Oh, you didn't know that black hair is cursed? It is a sign of cursed misfortune by X'Hal. We saw it with my eldest sister, whose birth started the war that led to my parents' demise, and she herself led to our destruction. Now, my true sister took as her mate and true love one with the cursed hair, and X'Hal punished her with the worst of tragedies. Now, I must atone for both my sisters, and that atonement can only be paid in blood!"

"Wildfire," Supergirl replied while turning angry, "you'd better not be saying what I think you are."

"Tamaraneans don't think, we feel. And I feel that we have been pushed around by celestial bullies for far too many millennia. We feel that the murder of our Queen was the last straw on our backs. And I, for one, would like to know what it feels like to be the dominant species for a change!"

Wildfire than started to fly up, only to be trapped in Supergirl's ice breath. He broke out with ease and turned to face the blonde Kryptonian The two had a sparring match in mid-air, and Supergirl fought harder than she ever had to combat the crippling the effects of both magic and kryptonite. But all too soon she was weak enough for Wildifre to push into the still-collapsing LexCorp Tower, and twisted rebar around her body to keep her in place.

As Wildifre started to throw starbolts down on more innocents, Supergirl shot him with her heat vision, refusing to give up. Irritated, Wildifre flew around behind her, where her heat beams could not reach her. Just as her eyes returned to normal, she saw Bumblebee flying towards her.

"Never mind me! Save the people!"

Right then, a starbolt blasted through Supergirl's chest from behind leaving a massive hole where the symbol of her cousin had been that went all the way through to her back. Wildfire emerged from the collapsing rubble from behind, arms folded and wearing a smug smile.

"So, how does it feel?"

After a few seconds of silence, Wildfire was under a barrage of attacks from the honorary Titans and the Metropolis police force. He flew deeper into LexCorp Tower and finished demolishing it, using the resulting rubble as a distraction to escape. Following him were his loyal soldiers, heady back to their base to prepare for conquest. He looked down below to see Supergirl's corpse dangling from out of the rubble. Earth's Champion of Justice was now just part of a massive trash heap.

"Well, we've destroyed the enemy's fortress and defeated their greatest champion. Victory for Tamaran!"


	29. No More Heroes

Starfire awoke again, but realized that she had been moved to a dimly room and was lying on an extremely comfortable bed, and her hand was being clasped firmly by a firm, strong manly hand. Once her eyes had adjusted to the light, she realized that she was in the private dimension that her friend Raven had craft, and was lying on the bed on which she had enjoyed so much romantic lovemaking. Then she weakly uttered the name of the man she loved, the man clasping onto her, the man whom she recognized before her eyes even opened.

"Robin."

Dressed in his Nightwing uniform, Robin gently slid his other hand underneath Starfire's back and raised her upper body against his own, placing his neck on his shoulder while gently crying. Starfire wanted to embrace him and tell him that they would again be victorious over the impossible, but instead her mind was stuck on repeating the horrific end of her beloved pet larva.

"Silkie?" she uttered as another tear started to flow.

"Silkie is being handled by my biotech division," answered a third person in the room. Starfire slowly moved her eyes to see the silhouette of Michael Holt, sitting down in a simple wooden chair. "They say that the remaining tissue shows signs of regeneration, but no word for certain."

Starfire didn't quite understand what he meant, but it didn't matter if she did; her mind was now stuck on flashes of those evil laughs from the monster clown and her monster sister. An expression that she had always believed was meant to be for joy and friendship had now redefined itself to mean the unforgiveable sin.

"Blackfire?" she asked, with a strong hint of anger in her voice.

"Blackfire … flew away. We don't know where she is," confessed Robin.

Starfire placed her hands on her lover's shoulders and gently separated their bodies so that she could look him in the eyes.

"Robin," she asked, "where is the key?"

"I … don't have it, Star."

"I do," revealed Mr. Holt. "Both of your minds have been broken. I'm keeping you in here until they've been put back together."

Starfire gently pushed Robin aside and flew up to look down at Michael.

"So, I am the prisoner?"

"No, Star," answered Robin. "I asked Mr. Holt to come in here with us, so he could make sure that we think straight before we go out and do the right thing."

"But you did not ask me."

"Well, no, you were still healing under the Purple Ray."

"True, you are both suffering from severe PTSD," explained Michael. "Thankfully, the Purple Ray undid all permanent physical damages to your brain, but the mental scars are things that you need to overcome by your own strength and will."

"I don't want to," said Starfire surprisingly bluntly. "I don't want this. I never wanted to lose my home, to see my friends hurt, to watch Silkie die. But I also did not want to lead my people. I did not wish to be sold as prize to enemy of my people. I did want to wish to have a sister full of nothing but hate. I wish to get what I wish, and I wish for the keys!"

Starfire opened her hand to Michael, but he refused to budge. "And what to you plan to do once you are back on the outside?"

Starfire gritted her teeth and softly forced out the word that she had dreaded to say her entire life – "KILL!"

"And why is it that you want to kill? Do you wish to stop other pets suffering the same fate as Silkie or do you…"?

"Enough!" shouted Starfire, her eyes and hands beginning to glow green. "Hand over the key!"

Michael still refused to budge. "And if I don't?"

"Then I shall take it!"

"What if you couldn't take it without killing me?"

"Then I shall kill …," Starfire eyes and hands stopped glowing as she stared down with a look of shock at what he had just said. She flew down to the ground and collapsed in Robin's arms, breathing heavily at the horror of her new true nature.

"It's true, Robin! I want to kill our friend Mr. Holt! I want to shoot a starbolt straight through his head, then go find and Blackfire and make her hurt for every time she hurt me, and … kill her! I can feel I deep down in my heart; I know I have to do it!"

As her right hand began to glow again, Robin took two steps back and moved her hand so that it was aiming at his chest.

"Star, I want to see that bitch suffer as much as you do, but to what cost? Is her end worth my life, or the lives of anyone else you love?"

Starfire began to shake, then her starbolt glow faded away as she fell forward into his arms, crying for his support. "Please, help! This feeling, this hate … I don't like it!"

"I know. That was always your strongest quality. No matter your hatred for an enemy, you never let it take control of you. Remember that Val-Yor bastard? You had no reason to save him, but you did, because you shunned your hatred and did the right thing. And when we were brought back after Terra killed us? The rest of us immediately talked about revenge, but you – you were sad that a friend had turned evil, and would only kill her because it meant saving the city. That's who you are, Starfire. You're kind and sweet, and that's what drives your strength and confidence. That's the woman that I fell in love with, and the you I want to leave here with."

Starfire continued to pull him close as they both sat down on the bed.

"This is good," stated Michael Holt. "Your true love will be your biggest support in getting through this. Let me know when you're ready to…"

"Clarify the no-kill policy?" Robin quietly interrupted. "I've heard it so many times. If you decide how to punish the bad guys, we also decide who the bad guys are, yada-yada."

"Good, because I'm not going there. If you're willing to kill, that's fine by me. The issue is what will motivate your killing. In my years of counselling, I've seen that the most improvement was in those who killed in self-defense, or protecting innocent life. Their actions were done out of a desire to protect human life, not a thirst to see it taken away. However, the worst cases have been shell-shocked veterans, the ones who saw or committed atrocities. Their biggest obstacle is finding a reason for all the bloodshed, and mostly they can't find one. So, if you go back out there, and you're willing to make the ultimate decision and purposely take a human or alien life, what would be your reason for doing such a thing."

Robin closed his eyes and gripped Starfire even harder. "Mr. Holt, this is a lot to think about, and I know we need to. But right now, my wife and I just need to be together."


	30. War Were Declared

Oracle was frozen in front of her work station for hours, still coming to grips with the murder of a close friend Cyborg could barely work either, even with his non-emotional computer functions working at full capacity. In fact, neither of them said a word until Dr. Stone spoke up.

"Dr. Gordon, it's time for you to take your tests…"

"Wait, DR. Gordon?"

"Yes," explained Oracle. "I've actually held my PhD. in computer science since I was 11."

"And you still went to high school?"

"My dad made me, so that I could have a normal life. That's where I met Robin and became Batgirl. Then I got stuck in this wheelchair, and it was back to being a lonely super-genius and goodbye hero work."

"You are a hero, confirmed Dr. Stone, "after how you freed us from that Slade fellow."

"Sorry to interrupt," announced Commissioner Slack, "but things are getting even worse."

The main television screen was unmuted, and everyone gawked at a video report of the Watchtower, abandoned by the off-world Justice League, being blown to bits by Tamaraneans. The aliens responsible were tracked through Earth's orbit, and soon footage was shown of them stealing the International Space Center and the Hubble Space Telescope. After a quick diatribe from numerous political commentators, all the world news networks played a live video being sent from the Moon.

The video showed Wildfire wearing the Royal Crown and a rather smug smile, standing next to the Apollo 11 landing site that had been untouched due to negotiations with world leaders. Because sound cannot travel in space, he was holding a series of cards to deliver his message.

"One million years. That is how long your species has been allowed to evolve, correct? Conglomerations of other species have had the same time to evolve, and do you know what they must show for it? Travelling faster than light speed. Terraformation. Summer homes on asteroids. And what's the best you must show? This."

The camera panned down to footprints from the original astronauts, which were meant to remain for the rest of eternity as a testament of one of mankind's greatest technological achievements.

"It's taken you this long to accompany something so primitive?"

Using his boot, Wildfire covered the footprints with lunar soil, and he did so with a casualness that only added to the insult.

"Your science is pathetic. Your culture is pathetic. Your justice is pathetic. You allowed to a monster to murder hundreds because your law was more concerned about his 'basic human rights' than protecting his victims – the last of whom was my sister, our precious Queen. She was greatest thing a Tamaranean could be proud of. As retribution, we'll now destroy what you people are the proudest of!"

The camera then showed rage-induced Tamaraneans destroying every human remnant on the Apollo Landing Sites – the lunar modules, the American flags, the plaques. Following that, the torn fragments of the Hubble and the ISS were cat down in the same area, and the surrounding Tamaraneans all gave silent celebratory cheers.

Wildfire had the video stopped and flew into his own private dwelling, where he was met by his male dwelling.

"How is our egg?" King Wildfire asked.

"Getting warmer, but more importantly, many of the people are rather uncomfortable with your course of action. More than half, it seems."

"Well, they should be reminded that it is the Tamaranean way to love our friends and hate our enemies."

"Yes, but many do not think that we should make all humans our enemies."

"Tamaraneans do not think; Tamaraneans feel. As King, I feel that all humans should suffer for allowing a world the heartless rule and roam free. Anything else?"

"No, sir, except that you have one final call from a world leader."

Wildfire sat down in front of his video screen and accepted the message. The screen showed President Trevor, sitting behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, hands folded together and having a very serious look on his face.

"Did you call to praise for how we tore up your flags?" Wildfire mocked.

"I'm calling to reason with you," the President responded. "Let me begin by asking a question: how is what happened at your sister's wedding any different than what you did in Metropolis?"

"Oh, I see; you're the wise, old man giving bullshit wisdom to the stupid young kids, right?"

"Yes, I am a man. A man who has seen war for nearly a century. I've witnessed every atrocity that grown adults will do to each other, every act of sadism done against innocents, every type of cultural erosion done in the name of country, religion, power and greed. And now, you have just joined them in the ranks of evil. You treat war like it's a game, a game that you have initiated out of your own childish pettiness."

"That's not true at all. We still need a bunch of supplies to continue our colonization, and I've decided on a much better trade proposal. We're going to invade your planet, rule your people, and take everything we want in exchange for imposing on you the superior culture of a much more advanced species!"

President Trevor sighed. "So, Congress was right to quickly reach a resolution then. You really are going to war over your neighbors. Well, as inferior as we are, we've known about the existence of intergalactic imperialists for quite some time. We wouldn't be so foolish as to not have some type of defense prepared."

"Oh yeah? Well, bring it on, bitch!"

Wildfire cut the video. As President Trevor stared at the blank screen in front of him, his expression did not change as he pushed the glowing red button on the pulled-out drawer to his right.

Moments later, King Wildfire was leading his army to conquer their neighboring planet. As they approached the atmosphere, none of them noticed how a military satellite bearing the flags of numerous countries began to open compartments in its sides. Each of these satellites was soon pointing four high-tech lasers each straight at the incoming army, and once they were in the proper range, they fired. Within seconds, Wildfire had stopped to look around him in horror as his soldiers were being pierced through and dismembered, while the survivors flew around in a panic.

The Tamaranean army was falling to the Global Freedom Strategic Defense Program, a series of laser-equipped satellites meant to deter anyone from launching a nuclear missile. And now, it turned out it worked just as well on extraterrestrial invaders.

Watching his soldiers being massacred caused Wildfire to snap, and he pelted the satellite with starbolts until it exploded. After the fireball had dissipated, Wildfire's resolve to be a conqueror was complete, and he led what was left of his army to complete their invasion. That is, after he ordered his remaining soldiers to ignore the remains of their comrades floating in Earth's orbit.


	31. The Devil in the Demon

Wonder Girl and Jinx hugged each other and sobbed for well over half an hour upon hearing of Supergirl's murder. Not knowing what else to do, Beast Boy found a package of clean tissues in the rubble. Both ladies accepted them without complaining.

"How could this have happened?" asked Wonder Girl in disbelief. "How could they have done that?"

"Because those Tamaraneans are purely devoted to their culture," explained Herald, working his magic trumpet on Raven's mirror. "They only have two modes: either they love you with all their hearts, or they hate you with every fiber in their being."

"Starfire would never have wanted this," sighed Wonder Girl

"No, but Blackfire did," commented Beast Boy. "She flew a bazillion miles across the galaxy just to get Star framed for theft, and then took over her planet just to force her into an arranged marriage. She's gotta be obsessed with seeing Starfire as miserable as possible. Now, she's gotten Starfire's homeworld and new home fighting against each other, and she can't stop it because she's … you know."

Beast Boy quickly remembered that Jinx and Herald were both present, and neither were supposed to know about the existence of Raven's Purple Ray.

"What about Slade?" asked Jinx. "You guys have a lot of enemies, but he seems to be the only one with an obsessive hatred strong enough to want to pull this off, especially in how it affected Robin."

"Yes, you make a good point," agreed Beast Boy, "but you wanna know who I think the real brain is? The mailman!"

"What?"

"Yeah! Cyborg and I have a bad habit of breaking guitars and mics and background video screens for our regular jamming sessions, so we must order them by the bulk. Those things are heavy, and the poor mailman must carry that heavy load all the way to Titans Tower, swimming across the gulf with our goodies in a boat tied to his back! He's gotta be super-pissed, that guy, and I'm the one who broke him!"

"Beast Boy, are you OK?" asked Wonder Girl.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to lighten the mood with a little joke!"

"Well, it wasn't funny."

"You're no fun! Raven would've at least completed the joke with a sarcastic punchline!"

Suddenly, Raven's mirror started to glow an indigo light. Everyone turned to see Herald standing away from the floating device, his trumpet withstanding the magical winds coming out.

"I've got it," he explained, "but it's gonna close soon. Now could be your only chance!"

Wonder Girl jumped into the mirror, followed by Beast Boy and Jinx. When they got to the other wise, instead of finding a vast dimension of floating rock islands, they found an immense field of dead crops, underneath an orange sky with red clouds.

"Well, this is very different", said Beast Boy. "If Scarecrow's here, at least he's taught Raven how to be a better decorator! Well, let's go catch us a crook!"

Beast Boy started to wander off, but was yanked back by Wonder Girl, who pulled him next to Jinx.

"Before we do anything, I need to know – why are the two of you willing to do this?"

"Well, I'm the only other magic user available, so I thought I might be the most useful," answered Jinx. "And besides, I've always thought that I could relate to Raven, with us both being witches and lonely pasts, but I never really mustered the courage to get to know her better."

"And as for me, Raven is my friend!" answered Beast Boy. "What other reason do I need?"

"Really? Because when Kid Flash and I treated the two of you to dinner, you seemed to be a lot more than just friends."

"Yeah, we're pretty much like brother and sister!"

"Really? Because brothers tend to not buy the most expensive desserts to share it with their sisters, nor do they use a picture of them hugging their sisters as a phone screensaver!"

Beast Boy blushed as he failed to come up with an explanation for that. "So, why are you here, Wonder Girl?"

"Well, I want to say it's to save a fellow titan, but truthfully, I'm here to take back my pride. Last time I faced Scarecrow, he forced me to give up. An Amazon never gives up! I will show him the true strength of a warrior, and make him quake as his kneels in surrender!"

After Jinx and Beast Boy gave her a startled glare, Beast Boy shouted, "Well then, let's do this! For magic! For friendship! For honor! For Raven!"

Beast Boy took off across the field, with Wonder Girl and Jinx close behind. Not long after, an army of walking crops shaped like skeletons ambushed them, but they struck them down easily. But the skeletons wouldn't stop appearing, and soon they began to take on the forms of the Titans' fears – lost loves, betrayed friends, disappointed mentors, gloating enemies. These two were struck down, but not without some form of hesitation.

Eventually, the crop-skeletons stopped attacking, and the trio was surprised by a massive thrown rising from the ground. Atop the throne sat Scarecrow, having updated his costume and scythe to give the appearance matching that of a dark fantasy king.

"Well, if it isn't the three little Titans, come to huff and puff and blow my house down!"

"What have you done with Raven?" demanded Beast Boy.

"Well, let me put it this way. Without her consent, I managed to get inside her, penetrating deeper that she ever would have thought possible, and while she didn't like me at first, she came to enjoy me, until she finally embraced me and became one with me."

The trio stared at the shock of this rather perverted confession.

"Yes, you're scared, aren't you? Well, green boy isn't. You're just jealous because I beat you to it!"

"What, no!" objected Beast Boy. "I'd never do that unless she asked me to!"

Wonder Girl and Jinx turned their shocked faces to him.

"What? A true man never denies a woman who wants to be satisfied!"

"Really?" replied Scarecrow. "How many women have wanted to be satisfied by you?"

"Well, none, but that's still more than you!"

"Actually, I made a good portion of my business dealings helping the lady psychos on the Suicide Squad fulfill their erotic desires with my fear toxin and…"

Scarecrow was then knocked off his throne by Jinx and then lassoed in the air by Wonder Girl, who then yanked him to the ground.

"What's your endgame plan?" she demanded.

"Well, my defeat is impossible, so I'd might as well reveal all!"

At his mental command, his new scythe rose up and sliced away Wonder Girl's lasso, while at the same time slicing open the ground, forming a massive chasm between the villain and the heroic trio. The three looked down the chasm and saw numerous red and black clones of Raven digging away at the rocky ground, exposing a yellow glow underneath.

"You all know that Raven is the spawn of a demon-god, right?" Scarecrow said as he stood back up, scythe in hand. "She has the potential to shed off her human shell and become a goddess herself, but she never showed her full potential, always limiting her powers as much as possible so that people would fear her as less as possible. Well, I'm going to have her embrace the fear! She's going to become the hellish deity that she was always meant to be, and since Raven and I are one, I shall finally become the God of Fear! Everyone in the world, and then the universe, will soon be kissing my feet in absolute terror!"

"I don't think so," said Beast Boy rather bluntly. He leaped across the chasm in the form of a manticore and assaulted Scarecrow as Anubis, but Scarecrow succeeded in fighting him back with his scythe. Wonder Girl and Jinx both tried to join the fight, but soon all three found themselves surrounded by red and black clones of Raven, all with emotionless faces.

"Fight it, Raven!" begged Beast Boy. "Whatever he's done to you, you need to break him away!"

When he didn't get a response, his voice grew more concerned. "Raven? What has he done to you?"

"I told you, I screwed with her mind and her one with me!" bragged Scarecrow. "Your friend isn't your friend anymore, and she never will be again."

As if to prove his point, Scarecrow and all the Ravens merged together to form a massive monster that from now on shall be referred to as Scarebeast.

"Scary, isn't it?"


	32. The Game Intensifies

"Whoever this Gamesmaster is, he really knows how to plan ahead."

All the codes provided by Mirror Master had been successfully downloaded, and the use of any of his technology over the past 100 days could be clearly marked on the main computer screen. The idea was that by finding the highest concentrations of markings, they could determine the point of origin, and thus the location of where Blackfire, Gamesmaster and their goons were hiding out. However, Gamesmaster seemed to have anticipated the chance of this happening. So, from the instant he stole the Mirror Tech, he had Billy Numerous split into multiple clones and continuously hop through mirrors all over the world, throwing off any chance of finding a point of origin.

But Oracle was also well-prepared. She had brought along the data she had gotten while undercover for Professor Chang, and while she failed to get any details regarding Gamesmaster's location, she did receive some info on the Titans' old archnemesis.

"Cyborg, I'm uploading all the files I have on Dr. T. O. Morrow?"

"Dr. T. O. Morrow? The android specialist who went rogue?" asked Dr. Stone.

"Yes, sir, and his robot designs were 99.9% similar to those of Slade's. We've thought that Slade might have been him or at least working for him, but since he's gone completely off grid, that's been nothing more than a theory."

"And those same robots are with Gamesmaster," explained Cyborg. "We have no proof that Slade is involved, but he's the only one of your rogues with the intelligence, resources, and desire to pull off this type of scheme. Furthermore, Dr. Morrow is the only known person with technology matching that used by Slade. So, if we start looking for Dr. Morrow, we just might Gamesmaster, and perhaps Slade."

The trio tried to uploaded data from Dr. Morrow's android designs into overhead satellites, only to be informed that all satellites had been shot down by rampaging Tamaraneans. Then Cyborg remembered of an ability he had been recently upgraded with – the Sonar Data Echo.

"Think of it this way," explained Dr. Stone. "When you shout down a well, your sound waves will echo back. Similarly, I give out a pulse for a specific type of blueprint, and if it's found it should bounce back to us."

"I see," replied Oracle. "But according to your codes, it will also generate an electromagnetic pulse. Are you saying we should put the whole city under a blackout?"

"Well, not just the city, but probably the entire county as well. This is only assuming that Gamesmaster is hiding out in this county. Which is a huge assumption, and thus a very risky gamble to make."

"But how exactly would we do this?" asked Oracle.

"Given enough power, my arm cannon can produce an EM pulse of that magnitude. As for the magnetic echo, this supercomputer was built by Cyberwear for the purpose of detecting any animalities in this town, including magnetic. Even if the echo is unnoticeable as a speck of dust, we should be able to read it."

"Sounds like a lot to take in, but there's nothing else we can do. Now, where are we going to get that much power then?"

"Cyberwear can also take care of that."

/

After the attack in Metropolis, all Tamaraneans working at Michael Holt's xenothium plants had locked themselves in, not knowing what they were supposed to do. They had come to enjoy the Earth and got along quite well with the humans they had taken the time to meet. They all felt anger about what had happened at the wedding, but none of them could find enough hate in themselves to join the rest of their species in the quest for revenge. With no leader to guide them, all they had agreed to do was wait until the violence had stopped.

Thus, they were more than happy to assist Cyborg and company when he arrived with a plan to stop the violence. After escorting him to the roof of the plant, they connected him directly to xenothium power cells, and in a manner of seconds he had absorbed enough energy to send off an EM pulse to cover the whole county. The instant he set it off, Cyborg's electrical components shut down, as did all other electrical devices in and around Jump City. But, the xenothium in the factory allowed it to turn back on, and all power was diverted to the main HoltVac mainframe that had been escorted with them.

/

Lex Luthor hated driving himself, but it was all he could do for right now. He parked beside a billboard sign about 200 miles outside Metropolis and waited patiently for his contact. When she arrived he stepped out to greet his sister Lena.

"Have you taken care of everything?"

"Everything except the data," she replied.

"I always could count on you!" Luthor smiled and handed the flash drive to Lena, who took it and handcuffed their wrists together. Luthor stared at her in confusion, and then caught her unconscious body as Jericho got out of it. As they were immediately surrounded by police headlights, Luthor stared up in defeat at Jericho, who played an audio recording made by Robin.

"Hello, Luthor. I didn't fully believe you, so I had a friend keep an eye on the one person you trust. Looks like I was right. It's over."

/

"Hey, boss lady! I think we got trouble!" shouted Gizmo from his computer. "That was an electromagnetic pulse that just hit us. It covered the whole county, and originated over a power plant in Jump City. This has to be the cruddy Titans at work!"

"What could they possibly do with an EM pulse?" asked Gamesmaster.

Blackfire knocked him across the room in anger. "Don't you know anything? Never question your opponents' moves! Whatever you try to do, stop them! Now, since you've been so informative, answer me this: where would the Titans be operating from?"

"Shouldn't we just check out the power plant?"

"No, that would be far too obvious!"

"Well, it seems to be the only place in the county getting any kind of power right now."

"Good enough. Cheshire, front and center! Take Adonis and Johnny Rancid to the power plant and put an end to the Titans!"

Cheshire led the other two through a mirror, and then they all returned back through.

"My lady, all the mirrors in the power plant have been removed."

"Getting clever, are they? Well then, go to a nearby building and barge your way in, you idiots!"

After they had left again, Blackfire turned to Psimon, who was keeping an unconscious Raven stable in a ball of mental energy. "And you, keep all your focus on the Anti-Life Equation. I can't risk anything going wrong!"

/

Oracle and Cyborg sat staring at the computer while Dr. Stone continued his tests, waiting for the data echo. The silence was suddenly broken by red lights flashing the alarm and an emergency call from Commissioner Slack.

"Oracle, three of the Titans' foes are rampaging through the plant! They're coming for…"

The moment he was cut off, the computer indicated that it had received a magnetic echo. As Oracle was quick to pinpoint its location, the main doors into the basement level exploded open, and Cheshire walked in followed by Adonis and Johnny Rancid. As Dr. Stone went to find cover, Adonis and Rancid began laying waste to the Tamaranean workers (and put up a decent fight with the alien weapons they had been provided), while Cheshire rushed straight for Oracle. Cyborg joined the fight against the two male villains, but also destroyed servers, damaging the performance of the HoltVac mainframe. As Cheshire approached Oracle, the police guards present fired at the assassin, but she easily dodged their attacks and sliced them down.

Oracle managed to catch Cheshire's hands just before her claws would have sunk into her back. "Impressive," Cheshire complimented, "but keep in mind that I have twice as many working limbs as you!"

Without warning, Oracle suddenly raised her own legs and kicked Cheshire in the stomach hard enough to send her spinning through the air. After getting back on her feet, she looked up to see Oracle rushing at her, carrying her wheelchair like a sledgehammer. Oracle bashed her wheelchair against Cheshire, breaking it into a dozen pieces, and knocking Cheshire back again. Once again, the assassin got back up to attack, but her claws were stopped by batarangs wielded by Oracle, now standing toe-to-toe with her.

"How are you doing this?" Cheshire demanded. "You're a cripple!"

Oracle moved her face closer and answered with an angry smile, "See the baby I'm carrying? Not mine!"


	33. We Will Always Need Heroes

"We've been in here for six weeks now," explained Michael Holt. "Granted, it's been less than a full day out there, but you shouldn't have to worry about that. You've talked immensely about how much you need to be out there leading the way, but you're not sure the path you wish to take."

Neither Robin nor Starfire looked at him. They remained sitting on their bed, hands clasped together, neither of them figuring out exactly what they need to do next.

"I thank you for trying to help us," said Robin, "but have you ever been in our situation."

"Well, not to the same extremity, but yes," Michael answered. "I've been a bachelor for a while now, but before that I had a family. A wife and a daughter, with a son on the way. There was also my older brother, who was the exact opposite of me. While I was a straight-A student and star athlete, he was mentally retarded and crippled from birth. But he was my brother, and my best friend. One day, driving home from the state fair, drunk driver ran a red light, and I lost them all. It wasn't until they were buried that I thought of murdering the bastard, and honestly, I was disappointed to learn he had died to. No mourners, though.

"I drank heavily, lost all meaning in life, and contemplated taking my own life, and I'd take all my material things. But in doing so, I came across the old comics I had read as a kid. I enjoyed them so much when I was younger, but now I looked at them through the eyes of an adult. I was reminded of all the lessons they had taught me – to never give up, to always have hope, to never stop fighting – and it was then that I understood what my heroes meant. I once again felt that same inspiration to be a big strong good buy, and that's what I made myself into.

"But do you know what the main difference is between our stories? You two are the heroes. You both are the inspiration. When people don't know what to do, they'll think of the example that you set. So, the big question is – what is the example you wish to set?"

Robin tried to take this in, but couldn't. "Mr. Holt, I've been playing this hero game for some time, and honestly, I don't think I've seen any type of inspiration. With all the crazies Bruce and I clashed with in Gotham, you'd think that the people would have followed our lead and made the city safer. But instead, they continued to run a broken system where every crazy could easily slip through! Nothing, no matter how heinous, would convince them to change! And Bruce was no better. With all his wealth, you'd think he'd try to convince at least some type of change, but no, always about being the better person with him!

"When I came to Jump City, I wanted to be that inspiration, and when the crime rates dropped drastically, I thought I was succeeding. But the more I investigated, the more I realized that nobody sees me, or any of us, as a hero. We're nothing but kids in pajamas, meant to be cheap entertainment for other kids!"

"You just stated what local governments and media have said about you," stated Michael. "Do you really care that much about their opinion?"

"Their opinion is correct," stated Starfire. "When I was Kory Anders, I heard many talking about us heroes, and I did not hear anyone say they are inspired. They talk about how awesome it is to see us fight, how sexy we look in pictures, ow they like to dress like us in parties. I hear nobody ever talk about how we help them to do the right thing. And right now, I feel that what we have that as the most wrong thing is the rightest thing – we should follow our hearts and kill."

Michael stepped aside to bring ack his laptop. "I take it neither of you have spent much time on the internet, am I right?"

"No, we don't have the time for that type of fooling around," answered Robin.

"Well, that's too bad, because a lot of people have used it to say that they do think of you as heroes, that they find you inspiring, and that you've taught them to do the right thing. Look."

Mr. Holt turned his laptop around to show the Unofficial Teen Titans Message board, a feature that the Titans had heard of but never looked at. Michael had opened to the message boards, and the subject on top was entitled, "Open Letters to the Titans." Robin clicked on it, and he and his wife read through hundreds of online postings by young people, detailing about how the Titans had been role models for them. The ones that stood out the most were as follows:

"Dear Titans

You guys are my heroes, and I've seen plenty of hero stories to know what happens next. After a great tragedy, the good guy gives in to the darkness and becomes the bad guy. I don't want you to do that because it goes against everything that you have stood for.

Robin, despite losing his cool sometimes, you do know when to cool off a bit to maintain your reputation as a good leader. Even when Trigon ended the world, you held onto hope.

Starfire, you are selfless and are the purest of heart, even when the racist superhero Val-Yor kept calling you Troq. You even saved his life despite him not learning his lesson.

Beast Boy, you still need to hold onto the silly part of your personality, even though it can get annoying with the others. Your lightheartedness and jokes help lighten the mood.

Cyborg, you struggled a lot, whether it was being black or being part robot, you would know what if you wiped out all the villains, you may be even worse than you.

Raven, you have been struggling with your dark side for years, but always wanted to do good. So, you kept at it and became the beloved goth everyone knows and loves.

Bottom line, everyone struggles, everyone feels hopeless at times, but the most important thing is to keep you head in check, and keep going forward no matter how much it hurts."

\- PegasusZebra

"Dear Raven,

I know that you'll probably never read this, but I still feel that this is something I want to share.

My whole life, I've struggled with a stutter. I can still talk, but it takes me much longer to something than a normal person. Because of this, I'm not very social, and I spend a lot of time alone, reading books. I'm in my room a lot, and I don't like it when people come into my room.

But I do have a family who loves me, gotten me they best therapy they can afford. I do have friends, but I can't relate to them. None of them share my interests, and I'm bad at any activities we do together. Usually when I'm with them I isolate myself and avoid contact as much as I can. Truth is, no matter how much my family and friends say they like, I don't like myself at all.

That is, until I found out about you. I learned about you from online videos, and thought you looked sexy – like Batman but as a witch. I was thrilled to hear the Lois Lane audio interview about you, and it completely changed me. Until then, I ever thought that a superhero could exist that shared all the same problems as me. And then, you taught me that my friends didn't need to understand me to accept me, that despite my flaws I could still love myself, and that I didn't have to stay cooped up in my room all the time. Because of you, I finally stopped hating myself.

Now, I still have a stutter, but if you could overcome a demonic soul, I could learn to control my speech, so I don't stutter as much now. I'm much more talkative and outgoing, and thought I'm not as talented as any of my friends, I still have lots of fun with them.

So, thank you, Raven, for being the hero that I needed."

\- Saberlord_Oboeshoes16

Starfire started to cry at what she had read, and Robin had to hold back tears himself.

"You may be lesser known heroes, but you are still heroes," revealed Michael. "Whether you realize it or not, there are scores of young people who look up to you for guidance. But even if it was just one boy or girl who was inspired by you, what are you going to do to inspire him or her now?"

Starfire put the laptop aside and grabbed Robin's other hand to look him in the eye.

"Robin, I'm ready. I know what I must do. No matter how strong my hate, my love must be stronger. That is what it means for me to be a hero! And you, Robin, you are a hero because you are strong and brave! You make mistakes, but you learn from them! You never give up, and you look for the good in everyone! That is what it means for you to be a hero!"

Robin stared into Starfire's eyes and saw the same vigilant, angelic spirit that he had fallen in love with – and the two shared a much-needed romantic kiss. When they were done, they turned to Michael and Robin said confidently, "We're ready!"

Michael smiled back. "Good! Let's see where you need to go!"

Michael re-opened his computer and considered the local news feed, as well as data uploaded by Cyborg. "Less than a day, and it's already terrible. Looks like Wildfire went crazy and tried to conquer the Earth!"

"You mean … the Tamaraneans are the evil rulers now?"

"No, actually, the invasion was a complete failure. National militaries have been preparing for a possible extraterrestrial invasion for decades. It appears that the only part of the invasion force surviving is over Washington DC, being led by Wildfire."

"Please, you must take me to him!" begged Starfire.

"And I will. As for you, Robin, Oracle and Cyborg are trying to locate Blackfire's whereabouts, and they've run into some trouble."


	34. New Queen, New Sapphire

It had been 36 hours since New Tamaran had declared war on the Earth.  But now it was over.  Humanity had won. 

For decades, astronomers had observed space battles across the galaxy, and governments had been preparing their militaries to handle such an event happening to Earth.  Planes, tanks, and common foot soldiers were outfitted with plasma-based technology that brought down the invading Tamaranean hordes. 

Of course, it was their own fault for failing.  They were refugees, not warriors, led by a naïve youth who was merely blaming an entire species for his sister's murder.  But they still managed to do plenty of damage – laying waste to city centers and pushing civilian casualties passed the one million mark. 

But it finally came to a close as the squadron personally led by King Wildfire began raining starbolts down upon Washington DC.  It was here that they were met by a squadron of USAF fighter pilots led by President Trevor himself. 

A long fight ensued between the two, with the President's plane being personally engaged with Wildfire.  When the young king finally got a look at the pilot, he smiled and flew straight towards it. 

"I have taken away their Champion; now I shall take away their Leader!" 

Wildifre fired starbolts with enough intensity to break through the force field and cause the cockpit to ignite in an explosion.  But Trevor ejected through the fireball, wearing a powered armor suit in place of a pilot's uniform.  From his wrist, he fired a grappling hook that pierced into Wildfire's shoulder, then pulled himself in to deliver a savage beatdown in the air. 

Wildfire pushed the President off of him, but rocket thrusts on the ankles of the powered armor suit allowed the two to have a fist fight in the air, which concluded as President Trevor delivered a two-handed hammer punch to Wildifre's neck, sending him straight down to the tip of the Washington Monument, crashing all the way down until he reached the floor, reducing the obelisk to an outstretched pile of rubble. 

The President flew down to his defeated, motionless enemy, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him up to see the rest of his army being brought down.   

"You are a king without an army," he declared, pulling the crown of Wildfire's head and casting it aside, "which doesn't make you a king at all." 

Then he opened up holographic screens from his watch showing news reports of the damage and loss the Tamaraneans had caused. 

"Tell me," asked the President, "how does it feel to lead your soldiers to defeat and ruin, all in vain?  How does it feel to repay kindness with violence?  How does it feel to go turn an oppressed people into a legion of brutes?" 

Then the screens changed to show the destruction of LexCorp Tower … and the murder of Supergirl. 

"How does it feel … to murder an angel?" 

The screens vanished and the President lowered Wildfire so that they were both staring face-to-face.  Trevor had removed his mask and was staring with a face full of calm anger. 

"Well, you're a warrior," answered Wildfire.  "You should know." 

President Trevor threw Wildfire onto the ground and stomped on him, forcing his body to create a small crater. 

"So, you and I are the same, is that it?  Here's where you're wrong.  Yes, my whole life I have devoted to killing, but I kill so that my children's children won't have to wake up one day under the rule of a tyrant, and I kill so that those children who do wake up under a tyrant will no longer have to.  I don't kill because I hate my enemies, but because my enemies' hate drives them to kill me.  And I kill because I love my wife, and she will not return to this planet turned into your playpen!" 

"Well, I kill because I love my sister!  And I can't look at you or any of your kind without seeing the face of that demon who took her away from me!" 

Trevor took his foot off Wildifre and sighed in sadness. 

"I'm sorry to hear you say that." 

"I'm sorry too."  Trevor and Wildfire turned to look in astonishment as they saw a fully revived Starfire before them, placing the Crown of Tamaran upon her head and gazing at the destruction of the capitol city. 

"How many, Ryand'r?" 

"What?" 

"How many people have lost their sisters, their families, their homes … because of you?" 

"But … but sister..." 

"If you were my brother, I would never have asked you that." 

Before a response could be made, Queen Starfire received a call from her communicator.  "We've found Blackfire.  Sending coordinates now."  She turned to face President Trevor, completely ignoring the grounded Wildfire. 

"Mr. President, there is nothing my people can do to make amends for all the suffering they have caused.  Let the ones you have captured be punished by your laws for the crimes they have done on your soil.  And once I have dealt with the cause of all this, we shall no longer be a problem for your kind." 

Starfire flew away in the direction of the coordinates sent to her.  Along the way, she took out the Violet Lantern Ring she had been keeping for so long.  Holding it between her index finger and thumb, she concentrated on her heart's desire. 

"Sister.  I do not wish to kill you. I want to stop you, change you, and love you just like it would be for any normal sibling. I want to rescue you from the hate that has filled up in your heart. But if there is no other way, then I will fight, and if I must, I will kill you, because I love this planet and its people too much to let you or anyone else hurt it anymore!" 

Placing the ring on her finger, Starfire recited the oath she had long been putting off: 

"For Hearts Long Lost and Full of Fright / For Those Alone in Blackest Night / Accept Our Ring and Join our Fight / Love Conquers All / With Violet Light!" 

Starfire emerged from a flash of violet dressed in a new, all violet getup – her boots were the same except that cut off at her knees, while the long gloves she wore went up to her elbows. On her torso, she wore what could best be described as a bikini with material that led from her breasts to her hipline, and the straps instead of going over her shoulders went to her neck embrace. With her right fist clenched, she raised her brand-new Star Sapphire Ring into the air and blasted away to confront her evil sister for the final time. 


	35. Game Over

Jump City had numerous suburban areas surrounding it, and among those were many warehouses used for storage, shipping and construction. Since they were all privately owned, nobody ever seemed to question if one never showed any signs of business, since it was really none of their business. This made them a great hiding place for Slade, especially with all the available technology left over from the mysteriously vanished Dr. T. O. Morrow. Then, Slade himself mysteriously vanished, and a tech-savvy villain who went by Gamesmaster just happened to stumble upon it. It made the perfect headquarters for the unified Titans rogue, who went by Intergang after Gamesmaster had contacted Darkseid's Red Lantern servant known as Blackfire.

It was to this warehouse that a band of Honorary Titans made their way – Bumblebee, Aqualad, Speedy, Mas y Menos, Kid Flash, Argent, Herald, and several more. After Bumblebee flew inside through a broken window, she succeeded in bypassing security and opened a side door, allowing the rest of the Titans to sneak in quietly. As they moved through the seemingly empty building, an alarm went off, and the team soon found themselves against an army of robots – the exact type that Slade used to use - along with the remaining members of Intergang.

"Time to give up!" shouted Bumblebee. "We found you out, and now you're all gonna answer for your crimes!"

"That won't be happening," said a menacing voice from above. Everyone looked to see a shadowy figure on the balcony two floors above them.

"So, I take it you're the mastermind," presumed Speedy. "Then, you must be Gamesmaster."

"Yes, that is the name I am known by to a certain Oracle. But to the Titans of Jump City, I am known by a much more menacing name."

"Let me guess – Slade."

"Good guess, but no. I am actually someone far more sinister, who as finally earned the total of the Titans' true archnemesis. I am…"

Gamesmaster walked into the light and proudly declared his identity.

"… CONTROL FREAK!"

Control Freak stretched out his arms and looked to the ceiling as if to receive applause, but got none. He looked down with a scowl on his face at a rather confused band of Titans.

"So, wait, have you always been Slade since the beginning?"

"No! I was never Slade, never worked with him, and he had nothing to do with this!"

"Then, how did a lazy slab like you pull this scheme off?" asked Bumblebee.

"Ah, so that's what you still see me as? A couch potato with a souped-up remote. Well, I enjoyed being that, but when your favorite heroes don't even bother putting you on their enemies list, it's time you realize you need to step up your game. After all, we're all officially adults now, so I'd might as well make my schemes a bit more grown up, right?

"So, I did what I do best and gathered even more knowledge about the Titans than I already had. I hoped that I could impress the big bad Slade with my skills by tracking him down to his current hideout. My research led me here, and while I found plenty of robots and data on the Titans left by Slade, he himself wasn't here. Still, I now had everything I needed to prove myself a worthy adversary, and I gathered together all the other bad guys still wanting to get back for all the times you humiliated us!

"And when I said all the bad guys, I do mean all, since it also opened up a long boom tube tunnel and brought the lovely angel of rage herself! She brought us wonderful alien machines to help us do what we did, and I, Control Freak, pulled off the greatest evil scheme ever!

"I humiliated the Titans at the fashion show, destroyed Robin and Starfire's wedding, I made the Joker and Scarecrow and Lex Luthor my pawns, I got the Bat to kill the Clown, I caused the murder of Supergirl, I triggered an alien invasion, and I am turning your precious Raven friend into a weapon of mass chaos to be delivered to the greatest intergalactic warlord! You'd be crazy not to put me on your list now!"

Instead of being congratulated, Control Freak instead found himself under a barrage of blasts from Bumblebee, who repeatedly called him (among other things) an asshole. Control freak took his place at the front of Intergang, revealed his robotic weapons (as did Gizmo) and used his remote to bring in a mind-controlled Red X, who began to pelt the Honorary Titans with Xenothium.

A battle ensued between the two groups, and it was loud enough to wake Blackfire up from her beauty rest. She opened her door, and yelled to keep it down, and everyone stopped to stare at her.

"Well, looks like Cheshire wasn't as skilled as I thought. No matter; I might as well show you what you came for."

Blackfire unveiled Psimon holding a still-unconscious Raven in his mental bubble. "So, should I slaughter you all now, or wait until the weapon is complete?"

"What weapon?" Demanded Aqualad.

"The weapon I mentioned!" answered Control Freak. "Wasn't anyone listening?"

Bumblebee rushed straight up to Blackfire, indicating she was ready to battle.

"Blackfire, I know you hate your sister," said Bumblebee, "but do you really hate her that much? Destroying her own culture, starting a war, and everything you did at her wedding?"

"You bet!" Blackfire happily answered as she flew above them. "Making my precious sister suffer is the only thing that has ever made me happy. Turning her stupid smiling laughter into anguish and despair is my only reason to exist!"

"Then, won't you be unable to do that if she's dead?"

"Well, I could have left her alive so that I could watch her slip into hopelessness, but then she'd find a way to defeat me at the last moment, and I really don't like that cliché! Besides, once your friend Raven there has finished turning into the Anti-Life Equation, I'll use her against my master and take his place! I won't have a Tamaran to rule, but I will have the entire universe! And nobody can stop me!"

Then, the ceiling above her caved in, and Blackfire used a light projection to shield her. Then she looked in absolute shock as Starfire – know a member of the Violet Lantern Corps – descended in front of her with arms crossed.

"You were saying, sister dear?"

Blackfire emerged from the impact and stared at her sibling nemesis. "I don't know you're still alive, but it's no difference. The burning passion of rage will always conquer the weak will of love!"

"Blackfire, you will pay for all that you have done, both to our world and to this one. If you will not surrender peacefully, I will fight you, and if necessary, I will kill you!"

"Wait, what is this? Aren't you going to try to lecture me about how I'm still a good person inside? That you want us to love each other like normal sisters? That you forgive every horrible thing I've done?"

"No." After her blunt response, Starfire produced a myriad of long-range weapons from her ring, ranging from crossbows to machine guns. Blackfire couldn't help but smile back.

"If that's how you wanna play," Blackfire lifted her right hand, ring on middle finger, then lowered all other fingers to flip off her opponent. "Take your best shot!"

The two lantern siblings then clashed, and had a fight that took them outside and through the other warehouses in the area. Back inside, Intergang and the Honorary Titans continued to fight. After some time, Herald felt a glow coming from his pocket, and took out Raven's Mirror. Someone was trying to come out of her mind.


	36. Let The Fear Take Control

Wonder Girl, Beast Boy, and Jinx were in for the fight of their lives against Scarecrow, whose monstrous, four-eyed form kept on splitting into smaller offshoots, attacking the trio and keeping each of them outnumbered. Furthermore, Scarecrow still loved to play on the fears of his opponents, and now he had no need for his fear toxin or deep analysis. Now, he had finally become one with the nightmares.

Jinx did much more evading her shadowy attackers than fighting them, and when she did have to hit them with her magic, they took on the forms of her old friends that she had left behind – rather demented forms, but still convincing.

"We were your friends, Jinx! Why did you leave us for that boy?"

"You were never my friends!" she responded. "I tried to keep us together, but you were rude and incompetent. That 'boy' is the only who treated me like I was more than bad luck!"

"Really? So, what happens when your bad luck rubs off on to him?"

Jinx continued her fight, but whenever she landed a hit on one of Scarecrow's shadows, an image would flash in her mind of Kid Flash being hit by one of her spells and dying. After this occurred for about 20 times, the shadows ten morphed to take on the forms of her new friends, and instead of vanishing into, each shadow will fall on the ground dead.

Wonder Girl was busy battling against Scarecrow himself, who retained his immense form as she fought against the onslaught of fireballs and monsters that he threw at her. Eventually, she got her lasso tied around his neck. He surprised her by spinning his head around to face her, but she didn't move from where her feet had been firmly planet.

"Very impressive!" he complimented. "I've saturated this mindscape to be dozens of times more potent than my toxin, and while I can sense that you are afraid, you punch and cut your way straight up to my neck! You truly are frightening!"

"That is the resolve of an Amazon!" bragged Wonder Girl. "I will not succumb to my fears so easily this time, and I will not give up until you are defeated! Now tell me, how are you to be defeated."

With the lasso around his neck, Scarecrow had no choice but to answer truthfully. Not that he minded.

"Well, I'm completely bound to Raven in body, soul, and mind. The only way you could 'get your friend back' or however you put it would be to separate my body soul, and mind from each other. In other words, you'll have to kill me!"

Scarecrow could feel a bit of confidence waver from Wonder Girl, and laughed about it.

"Oh, you have to be kidding! I'm looking at a warrior who's afraid of killing! You'd might as well…”

Wonder Girl took out her knife and tried to stab Scarecrow in the head. He managed to throw her off just in time and prepared to prolong their fight.

“Let’s get something clear,” Wonder Girl proclaimed.  “I have no fear of killing.  Superman and Batman may be unwilling to take a life, but certainly not my parents, especially my mother.  She brought me up to be of strong body and strong mind to be a protector of good by being a destroyer of evil.”

“And it feels good, doesn’t it?  Taking the life of someone you hate?  You’re just like me; a monster!”

Scarecrow went to strike Wonder Girl with his massive claws, but she easily blocked them with her blade.

“No.  Monsters like you are nothing more than engines of hate.  People like me destroy what we hate to protect what we love.  That’s what makes us warriors!”

Wonder Girl kicked away Scarecrow’s hand and the two continued their onslaught against each other.

Beast Boy fought against his own onslaught of shadows, and each of them took on a black-and-red form of Raven. Beast Boy managed to get close enough to one of them to try to talk her out of her situation.

"Raven, snap out of it! I know you're strong enough to fight him! You defeated your father, so of course you can on a skinny cuckoo-head!"

"What for?"

"What for? So, you can beat the bad guy, save the day, go home with your friends!"

"I have no friends. You are not my friend. You are just afraid of me."

"What? No, I…"

"You are lying. You have seen what I can do, what I am, when I loosen the shackles off me. You think of me as a monster, and all your kindness is just to appease me."

"Raven, that's absurd! Yeah, I'm scared of what you can be when you're bad, but I care about you, and I want to see the good in you! You just gotta get rid of whatever Scarecrow's done…"

"Scarecrow is me, and I am him. He has turned me into what I was always meant to be: pure evil."

"Is that so? Well, then I just happen to have the ultimate secret weapon for that!"

Beast Boy reached deep into his pocket and pulled out … a continental breakfast of tofu waffles drenches in maple syrup and French toast sticks, with a glass of orange juice on the side.

"Evil beware!” he exclaimed while dressing himself up in the food to look like a fully-armed knight.  “We have waffles!"

The Raven clones did nothing but stare at him, and the one closest finally spoke in a rather irritated tone: "Really, Garfield?  Now, of all times, you’re gonna start cracking jokes? Jokes that are somehow lamer than ever before?"

"Aha!" shouted Beast Boy. "I knew it! I knew you were still there, Raven!"

"Wait, what?"

"You called me by my real name.  Scarecrow doesn’t know that but you do.  You also called out my idiocy, and then made a sarcastic quip! That's the Raven I know! However strong a grip Scarecrow has on you, you managed to escape it to express yourself just now!"

"Yeah, well, it's not lasting for very long," Raven confessed, closing her eyes. "That free expression was a temporary fluke. Right now, that free part of my self is being overtaken by…"

Raven was then startled by Beast Boy blowing a loud birthday party horn in her face, with two party hats on his head. "Happy Metrion Zinthos Day!" he shouted. "I figure that what your mind world needed was a holiday, so whaddya say we have one where we make cheap piñatas stuffed with vegan lasagna to resemble all the people you dislike? I'd be honored if you started with me!"

Raven's free expression started to come back. "Beast Boy, of all times, why are you still trying to make me laugh?"

"Well, I said I was never gonna stop until I did it, didn't I? Since there's a good chance of me dying, I'd might as well fulfill it now while I'm still breathing!"

Raven felt an urge to smack him for being so stupid, and then realized that she thought this based on her own free will. "I appreciate the effort, Beast Boy, but it will take more than that to truly release me from his grasp."

"Yeah, you're right. But since I know that being silly has a weak affect, I'm confident that being serious will be much stronger!"

Beast Boy took out his phone and began playing "Let The Fear Take Control", their favorite song by Bird or Devil. Raven grabbed her head and fell to her knees, begging him to stop.

"No, Raven, you need to listen. Listen and remember. Remember back when you said that nobody – not your mother, the monks, not even your friends – understood you, but Bird or Devil did. They could resonate with you, and you could feel your struggles through their music. This is what gave you the strength back then, and if I can't give you strength, then at least let this do the trick!"

"No, you don't understand! Scarecrow is leaving me but … it really hurts!"

"And who did Scarecrow fight before you? Batman, your childhood idol! You wanted to be a hero like him! You made your costume to look like him but as a hot witch! You called yourself 'Raven' because you thought it would make a good sidekick name. If he inspires you that much, then act like him! The same strength and courage and determination that you loved about him is inside you too! You just need to find it, let it out, and kick that creep's butt out of your head!"

His speech seemed to work, and Raven shouted upwards and could feel Scarecrow's influence leaving her. But right when she would have been free, she was struck by a badly-aimed spell from Jinx, and then overtaken by a surge of black magic, and Beast Boy was thrown backwards to collide with Wonder Girl and Jinx. They both looked up to see a newly reformed Scarecrow, still four-eyed but not smiling as much.

"That was unexpected. I never thought you could conquer your fear of losing a friend with humor. She almost got away from me. I'll just have to keep her attached while I give you three a nightmare so strong that you won't be waking up screaming!"

"The only way we can stop him is to kill him," explained Wonder Girl.

"I don't think I can do that," confessed Jinx.

"Don't worry. I'll take my dagger and punch through his chest until I reach his heart. You two keep him distracted."

Jinx and Beast Boy did as they were told, and assaulted Scarecrow. Beast Boy managed to take the form of a dragon and latched onto his neck, while Jinx repeatedly pelted his hands with her magic to keep Scarecrow's hands free. Meanwhile, Wonder Girl flew up to his chest and began tearing away and the bark-like skin, digging for what she hoped would be a heart underneath.

Scarecrow was in immense pain, and he knew what the trio was up to. Afraid of defeat, he decided to play one last mind game with a bit of despair.

"Fight all you like, green one, but you'll never see your girlfriend again!" he mentally whispered to him.

"She's not my girlfriend! But you will still let her go!" Beast Boy responded. He then got much more aggressive, digging his claws into Scarecrow's head and his teeth into his neck. Finally, Beast Boy to bite clean through the neck, spurting blood everywhere and leaving the head dangling off a thick piece of flesh. Wonder Girl and Jinx jumped back to watch the Scarecrow fall, and then morphed into the corpse of Scarecrow and the floating emoticlones of Raven.

"Raven! You're free! We beat him! We…" Then he noticed the blood sitting in between his gums, covering his teeth and dragging down his chin. He looked down to see the nearly-headless corpse of Scarecrow, permanently fettered from plaguing anyone ever again.

"Beast Boy?" asked the Gray and Happy Ravens. "Are you … you?"

Beast Boy started to shake, not knowing what to say. Wonder Girl and Jinx both came up to comfort him, and he wound up slouching back while crying softly.

"Open the exit. I'll grab … the corpse." Wonder Girl ordered Jinx. As she went to pick up Scarecrow's body, Jinx used a miniature horn provided by Herald to open a portal out of Raven's mind, and she carried a weeping Beast Boy through it with Wonder Girl following.

As the landscaped changed back to its regular form, the emoticlones hovered in a circle, wondering what to make of what had just happened.

"Do you see now?" asked a menacing voice. "That my way is the most proper?"

The emoticlones looked up to see a new visitor – the Spectre, having entered Raven's mind to get what he wanted in her emotionally weakened state.

"Your friend forsook everything that he had been told about the modern heroic moral code. He took a life, and in doing so, saved you and he entire universe from being enslaved by a madman."

"It was the only way," agreed Yellow Raven, "but only in this case. Just because killing worked in this scenario doesn't mean it is always the best solution, let alone the right choice."

"So, you don't think killing the Scarecrow was a crime?"

"Not at all. Like you said, it saved lives, and was the only way."

"Well, I see what the logical side is thinking, but tell me, what are you feeling?"

"That Beast Boy enjoys killing, and will become just another psycho," answered Gray Raven.

"Like I wanna go fight some baddies and go all hardcore on their butts, no restraints!" said Brave.

"Well, I guess I'm happy that he's dead, but not so much about that massive blood spill," said Happy.

"I'm just angry that nobody bothered to kill that maniac before!" said Rage.

"Yes, it is a pity that it took this long to recognize the true form of justice," agreed Spectre. "If your precious idol Batman would have realized it, then perhaps your friend Starfire would have had a wedding instead of a funeral."

The emoticlones looked up at the Spectre, who smiled back in delight.

"Oh, you didn't know?"

 


	37. No More Justice

Herald excused himself from the fight to take out Raven's mirror. From it exited Jinx carrying a crying Beast Boy with blood dripped out of his mouth, followed by Wonder Girl carrying the corpse of Scarecrow.

"What the hell happened?" he asked.

"We had to kill him to save Raven," Wonder Girl explained.

"This is all my fault," confessed Jinx. "I really am bad luck."

"No, you're not. But Beast Boy needs serious help."

"Well, we're kind of busy with a big fight right now," remarked Herald.

As the Honorary Titans continued to fight Intergang, Kid Flash managed to swipe Control Freak's remote and crush it. At that instant, all the other Intergang members except Gizmo stopped in their tracks and got knocked to the ground by a Titan, only to immediately put their hands in surrender and ask what was going on.

"That bastard tricked and took over our minds!" explained Red X. "And that red glowy bitch, she... she..."

Red X tore off his mask and fell to the ground crying. Aqualad rushed over to comfort him.

"Wow, you just keep digging yourself lower!" scoffed Speedy at Control Freak.

"Hey, I'm only doing this because I respect the Teen Titans!" explained Control Freak.

"What? How?"

"By leading them to horrible, grisly ends that are so common that they become numb to them, and ultimately numb to all morality!"

"OK, that makes no sense whatsoever."

"But it makes perfect sense when you use it to sell anti-bullying PSAs!"

"WHAT?" shouted Speedy after a brief pause.

"That's what I said!" said Mammoth.

"Oh wait, I see what's going on," continued Control Freak. "You just don't like me because I'm silly and wacky and not the villain you grew up with!"

"NO! We hate you because you're a selfish, sadistic, amoral, manipulative, uncaring, unheroic, immature bully! George and Marv, that is not a difficult concept to grasp!"

Speedy now got up into Control Freak's face to continue his rant.

"And by the way, you're a hack! You have no concept of originality, you put no effort into anything you do, and your only talent is ass-kissing things you liked before your balls dropped! Good god, you're an asshat! The only meaningful thing you could ever do is be a spokeman for the encouragement of oral sex, because you are the cum that your mother should have swallowed!"

Control Freak responded by running into his room, crying to his mommy about how still nobody loved him.

//////////////

Maintaining his bubble of mental energy, Psimon was a bit disturbed to see Raven rising up, turned away from him but wearing a dark green cloak, stretching out her arm, which was now bare save for dark green flat rope twisting around it and her fingerless gloves now given the same dark green color, towards him.

"Psimon," Raven spoke. "Receive your judgment."

A blast of black lightning burst from Raven's finger and reduced Psimon to an ice sculpture that quickly started melting.

The remaining fight against Gizmo can to an end as a massive cloud of green smoke suddenly appeared in the warehouse, and from it Raven floated straight into Control Freak's room.

The mastermind wannabe was still in tears, sucking the tits of a blow-up doll he was clutching and had labelled "Mommy".

"And then they said that I wasn't funny, and they want friends to act like friends and heroes to be heroic!" he whined between sucks. "Those nostalgia-blind dummy heads! I'm a really talented guy who worked really hard on this, and the kids love me!"

"So, you're the one responsible for making my friends suffer."

"Yeah, it's me! Control Freak! Now, do I finally get to be on your villain list?"

"Of course. In fact, you can even be the list!"

Raven zapped Control Freak, turning him into a piece of paper with the list of all the Titans' adversaries on it, with his name on the top. Raven grabbed the list, exited the room, and slowly started tearing it from top to bottom. Beast Boy, having heard her voice, was revived from his crying state and rushed to see, but was deeply troubled by what was going on.

"Raven, what are you doing?"

"Well, I've just turned Control Freak into that list he wanted to be on. It might not look like it, but he's still sentient – he can see and hear, and feel. Chipping a piece away from him would feel like scraping a piece of flesh of a human. So, what I'm doing right now would be as painful as feeling your body being torn in half. His body has changed, but his soul is there, and I've never heard such agony before. It's quite heavenly."

As Raven continued to tear the list apart she began to laugh like a maniac, and turned around to show her new outfit – a dark green belly dancer attire with bands of dark green flat rope. Beast Boy was not turned on by this, as he was far too disturbed by her sadistic laugh.

"Raven? What's happened to you?"

"Oh, Garfield, I'm not Raven anymore," she answered, looking at him with green eyes and the smile he had long wanted to see. "I am the Wrath of God! I am Vengeance! I am … the Spectre!"

Everyone stared up in shock. They had all long heard of the old murderous 'hero', but never had imagined that he would come back, much less take up Raven as his new host.

"And I am loving this female body!" she bragged while rubbing herself. "But it's got an annoying virginity problem. Oh well, I'm sure I'll have the time to fix that!"

"Raven, fight him! Get him out of you!" desperately shouted Beast Boy.

"Oh, shut it! If you wanted to be inside me, you should've at least made a move! And who knows, it might've been the one thing you're actually good at!"

Raven enveloped herself in her cloak and flew off, appearing right beside the two Lantern siblings as they were destroying their fifth block of warehouses. They both stared back in awe, while Raven smiled while keeping her eyes closed.


	38. Now is the Age of Vengeance

"Raven, is that you?" asked Starfire. "You look … different."

Without saying a word, Raven raised her hand and blasted Starfire into a nearby building with a blast of dark green energy.

"I appreciate your devotion, friend, by the time for justice is over. Now begins the era of vengeance!"

Raven floated above Blackfire and declared, "Blackfire, you have committed almost possible crime in the galaxy, from petty theft to the the destruction of your own home planet. You have laughed at suffering, smiled at torment, and giggled at manipulations. There is only one word to describe the likes of you - heartless."

With her telekenesis, Raven tore Blackfire's Red Lantern ring off her finger, causing her to scream in physical pain as well as mental pain. Her red armor faded away, showing only a black catsuit underneath, and Raven held the ring victoriously in her hand.

"The universe has been unbalanced for too long. Starting today, starting with you, let the wicked suffer!"

Raven cupped the red ring with both her hands and squeezed it until it was crushed into a bright flash of red light. Blackfire looked up in despair as her heart was destroyed right in front of her, and felt her pain grow as she was lifted into the air by black tentacles that stabbed into her body.

"But I can't let you suffer that easily," explained Raven. "You must experience the pain you have caused. All the souls whose lives you destroyed, you're experiencing their pain right now. How does it feel? It feels fun, right? It makes you happy, right? It gives you purpose, RIGHT?!"

Blackfire could only scream in agony.

"Oh, how careless of me!" continued Raven. "How could I forget your favorite victim of all - YOUR DEAR SISTER!"

Raven lifted Starfire out of the rubble and copied all the pain that she had experienced due to her wicked sister into her chakra. From that, Raven fired multiple black spiritual spears into Blackfire, causing her to scream even louder than before.

"Your sister that you love to torment so much IS MY FRIEND! NOBODY HURTS MY FRIENDS! And that's exactly what you are - a pathetic nobody! You will have no friends to mourn you, no family to carry fond memories of you, and no legacy but one of sadistic misery. Your removal from this universe will be the only good thing anyone will ever say about you ... and I am going to enjoy making it happen!"

As Raven flexed her fingers to make the spiked tentacles and spears pierce deeper into Blackfire, Starfire suddenly plucked her away and took her into a nearby abandoned building. When Raven found them, Starfire had replaced her sister's red ring with one bright of pink-purple crystal, and was using the light from her Star Sapphire ring to heal her sister's wounds

As Blackfire caught her breath, Starfire placed herself in between her evil sister and her friend.

"Wow," commented Raven, "you really do forgive easily!"

"No," replied Starfire, leaving her sister's head exposed so she could hear. "I do not forgive my sister. I do not love my sister. I do not even have a sister."

"Really? Then why save her?"

"I don't wish to save her. I wish to save you."

"Excuse me? I was just in your head, and what you think she deserves is a thousand times worse than what I came up with! Not to mention you're perfectly fine with killing her!"

"Yes, I want to suffer for everything she's done to me and my people and everyone else. And yes, my hate for what's she's done is enough to make me kill her and be OK with it. But if I do that, if I let my hate take control me, then I'll be no different than her … or you."

"Me?"

"I saw your face just now. Your eyes, your smile … it was the same horrible look that our enemies give when they are about to hurt us. They enjoy the pain, the agony, the killing. And now, so do you. Raven, this Spectre is a monster you've let take you over, and you've become the demon you were always afraid of being. Please, Raven, you're better than this! Put aside your hate and act out of love!"

"But I am acting out of love! I love my friends too much to let anyone go on to continue hurting them! It's people like you who let monsters like that run free! This world needs a better way to judge evil, and I'm going to deliver it!"

"Is that so?" Starfire crystallized both of her sister's hands, linking them together like handcuffs, and then linked her right elbow with Blackfire's left, placing herself in front of Blackfire to protect her. "And what happens when someone gets in the way of your justice?"

Raven gave a blank stare, smiled, and laughed. "Well, I guess that someone would be an accomplice!"


	39. Nobody Hurts My Friends

Linking her elbows with her sister's and carrying her like a backpack, Starfire flew as fast as she could away from Raven, who wasted no time in repeatedly showing up and attacking both. Thankfully, Starfire managed to dodge all her attacks.

"It's no use, Raven! I know how you fight!"

"But not how the Spectre fights!"

Their chase continued over Jump City and over the ruins of Titans Tower. Once she had gotten there, Starfire made a violet light construct in the form of a massive drill and started drilling its way through the ground. Raven suddenly lost her eager-to-kill demeanor and screamed in shock. When Starfire had finished drilling, she let the drill construct vanish, and the dust settled to reveal what she had done:

Starfire had excavated the ground to reach the secret Purple Ray, built by Raven to resurrect the Titans so that she would never lose her friends, and destroyed it.

"It's really easy to kill your friends when you know they can come back," stated Starfire. "But you no longer have that convenience. From now on, if we die, we stay dead. How badly do you want this 'justice' that is just revenge? Are you willing to kill your friend just to get your way? To satisfy your passion of hurting, which is not you at all?"

Raven's shocked face turned back to her smile, and she let out her sadistic laugh once again.

"I most certainly am!" she shouted, continuing to attack Starfire. "Never mind a deeper understanding of love – I don't even need love! Or friendship, or kindness, or self-esteem, or anything like that! What I have no is power – absolute power! I don't need friends when I can have this whole world obeying me, worshipping me, and keeping me company! And that's not enough for me, I can always find another world to add to my domain!"

Despite being under a painful grasp of dark green magic, Starfire still managed to use her lantern ring to get a violet stream of light at her chakra, causing Raven to be briefly paralyzed.

"Come on, Raven! I know you're still in there! I know that my friend who only wants to love and be loved can overcome this Spectre imposter! Defeat him like a real hero"

"It's too late," Raven confessed. "I can't stop him, and I don't want to. I wanted friends, and I only put them in danger. I wanted to be a hero, save people and inspire, but I'm nobody's hero."

"I'm sorry you believe that," said Raven as she took out her phone, "but it's simply not true."

Using her lantern ring, Starfire transferred the message board from her phone into Raven's mind – the same message board that had restored her and Robin's confidence. Raven shrieked in pain at first, but then was overcome by a sense of fulfillment, and began to shed tears of joy.

"You may not be the most popular hero around," explained Starfire, "but you're still a hero. You still inspire people everywhere, whether it be a young girl who wants to be brave, or a teenager with a stutter who can't relate to anyone else. How do you think they're going react to seeing what their hero has become, going against everything that made them look up to you? Is it worth becoming a broken pedestal? Fight it, Raven. If not for me, then at least for them."

Raven screamed again, severing the link between her chakra and Starfire's lantern ring, and once again put her into an agonizing bubble of dark green magic.

"That's the best you got? Does it for my fans? People don't want heroes for inspiration, they only want us for entertainment! We can slaughter an entire school of kids and they would still love us because we're their beloved Titans! They will laugh and praise everything that we do! I'll prove it to you once I kill … stop it!"

Raven suddenly released Starfire from her clutches and began grabbing her hand, shaking around as though she was having some internal conflict.

"What are you doing? … Leave them alone! … Don't tell me you still care about … Leave my friends alone!"

Within Raven's mind, her spirit was battling the Spectre for domination.

"It's no use!" cried the Spectre. "Just like Scarecrow, I'm completely bound to your soul and mind! I am the Wrath of God, and they only way you'll get rid of me is…"

"If I become a god," finished Raven. She then reached down beneath the landscape of her mind and released the full extent of her powers. The yellow light absorbed into her soul, and she completed the infusion with her magic chant:

"Azarath … Metrion … ZINTHOS!"

Starfire shielded her eyes as she watched Raven seemingly explode into a cloud of green-and-yellow magic. Not knowing what had happened, but fearing the worst, she held back her tears and began to fly back to New Tamaran.

Meanwhile, both the Spectre and Raven had been turned to spirit forms, invisible to the eyes of any mortal being. But while the Spectre looked the same as before, Raven was no wearing a shining yellow variant of her outfit, and her cloak had now taken on the form of a pair of albino raven wings, each if her body.

"Wow, you really did it," complimented Spectre. "You unshackled the limits on your supernatural powers, becoming a demon-witch-goddess. Too bad you had to sacrifice your physical body. Now, you will never get a hug from your friends ever again!"

"Well, if you had friends, you'd understand why I'd make that sacrifice for them," explained Raven. "Nobody hurts my friends, not even God, and especially not me. Oh, and speaking of God…"

Raven's spirit was then encased in her old physical form, surprising the bewildered Spectre.

"Since I'm a deity now, I can give myself a physical form and take it away whenever I want. Now, get off my planet and never hurt my friends again!"  



	40. Love and Hate

Once Starfire could begin to see the stars, she stopped to remove Blackfire from off her back and remove the crystal encasing her hands. She then flew several feet backwards and stared back at her sister with eager conviction.

"Let's settle this. You, me, right here, right now."

"What?" asked Blackfire confused.

"My ring tells me that I'm supposed to hold onto you until the my Lantern Corps come to take you and judge you for your crimes across the galaxy. But to be truthful, we both know how this type of story will carry out. You'll escape prison and try to hurt me and my friends again. Except then, it will be worse, and you will create some awful tragedy that will end in us finally fighting until just one of us is left."

"So, you just want to skip straight to the end part?"

"Yes," answered Starfire, putting away her Lantern Ring, her hands glowing for combat.

"Very well, if that's what you want."

Blackfire lit up her free hand, positioned to fight, and reduced the glow on each hand to a single finger that she pointed to her temple as she closed her eyes. Starfire lunged forward and pushed both hands away, letting the starbolts go into space.

"Why?" asked Blackfire as balls of tears began to float away from her eyes. "Why can't you just hate me?"

Starfire responded with the question she had been wanting to ask for years. "Why can't you just love me?"

"Because you were normal. I was different. Everyone loved you. They rejected me. I wanted to like you, I wanted to be LOVED like you! But you all said I was a curse, so I made myself into one, and..."

Then Starfire noticed that the red plasma that had been in Blackfire's mouth had been replaced with a pink-purple liquid.

"Your friend made me feel all the pain I had ever inflicted, and she was going to let it tear me apart. But this crystal - it's pure love, flowing through me, nourishing me, holding me together like pure anger once did. But I know what it feels like to have broken so many bodies and minds. I know I don't deserve this. I can't accept this. Just please ... make it stop!"

Blackfire's eyes glowed as if she intended to fire starbolts from them, but Starfire didn't move. Blackfire's eyes stopped glowing and she hung her head in defeat.

"What's the point? You win. You'd might as well relish in your victory."

"I do not relish in this."

"Why? After everything I've done..."

"Do you wish to know why I can't hate you? Because I do not wish to hate anyone. Mother and father and Tamaran may have hated you, but I never did. I wanted to see that you weren't a curse, that you were special, that you could one day be queen. When no-one else loved you, I did; even after every terrible thing you've done, hatred has tried to take me over many times, and almost did today. But I will never stop loving you, because I won't stop until you finally see yourself how I see you; a strong, brave, good warrior worthy of the Throne of Tamaran."

"I'll never be that. I've made myself unworthy of that, and I'm unworthy of love."

"Yes, you are unworthy. But I still love you, because I want you to be worthy."

Starfire then let go of her sister's hands and slowly backed away.

"But if you don't think so, then go ahead. I won't stop you."

Upon her release, Blackfire still couldn't understand what her sister meant. No longer thinking about taking her own life, she focused her thoughts on the violet crystal where her left index finger used to be.

Suddenly, her mind began revisiting old memories on Tamaran, of all the times that Starfire had reached out to her. But in revisiting these memories, she was no longer clouded by anger and jealousy. Instead, she saw her sister as one who loved her - the only one who ever loved her - and just wanted her o be loved. Once she realized this epiphany, the liquid violet crystal flowing through her veins stopped eating at her, and now replenished her.

Blackfire finally had what she had always wanted - and she had wasted her life trying to extinguish it. Her tears of pain now becoming tears of both sorrow and joy, she looked up at her dear sister.

"Starfire ... I love you too!"

The two sisters finally embraced the way sisters should for the first and only time in their lives.

The joyous moment was interrupted when Starfire felt some dust brush against her face. She opened her eyes to see Blackfire quickly decomposing into bright violet glitter.

"I'm sorry," Blackfire whispered. "I truly am, for everything I've done. Just wanted you to know before I'm gone."

"Gone?"

"Your love became my blood. It fulfilled my heart's desire, and that's to disappear."

"No, Blackfire! Please, stay!"

"I can't. I've hurt so many across the galaxy. They'll come for me, and I don't want you to get in their way."

"But..."

Blackfire held up her decomposing finger to Starfire's lips to shush her.

"Save your tears for someone worth them, someone who doesn't need love forced into their soul, and forget about me."

With a sad smile, Blackfire broke apart nto a cloud of violet dust, and each spec kept breaking apart until nothing was left. Nothing except for the violet crystal that had replaced her heart. Starfire held this crystal up to her own heart and fought against the tears building up.

"I won't forget you, sister dear."

/

The touching sisterly scene was watched by both Earth and Tamaranean telescopes. On Earth, many pundits instantly began debating on the true nature of this act. Some felt that Starfire was a naïve hippy whose all-loving heroics could have backfired easily. Others saw her compassion as an act to inspire quarreling groups across the world to put aside their differences.

The Tamaraneans were equally divided. Many of them had nothing but hatred for the one who had destroyed their home, murdered their queen and started a war. Others saw this as a sign to look to reconciling with their human neighbors, whose friendship that had betrayed in a failed, pointless invasion.

Starfire reutnred to her royal domains on New Tamaran. After aside the crystal in a box, Starfire was greeted by her brother's two lovers (or rather, ex-lovers).

"Your Majesty, the humans of Earth are … very upset about what your brother did," explained the male one. "Many of them are saying that they no longer wish to live close to us, and many of their leaders have sent messages saying that they do not wish us to come to the planet again."

"I see," answered Starfire sorrowfully. "Well, if that is what the people of Earth wish, then so be it."

"But, Your Majesty, what about our resources for rebuilding?" asked the female ex-lover. "And your consort?"

"We will have to search elsewhere, even if it takes a hundred generations. As for Robin…"

Starfire bit her lip and held back tears.

"It will take more than a marriage to make up for the damage Wildfire has caused. I cannot be with Robin. I thought that I could be. I thought that I could have a normal life with him. But there is nothing normal about me. I am Queen now, and as Queen, I must do what is best for Tamaran. If that means separating us from all humans, including my true love, then it must be done."

Her brother's ex-lovers dismissed themselves, and Starfire did her best to regain her royal posture while holding back tears at the thought of not spending the rest of her life with Robin. Then her communicator called.

"Hello, Robin. The war is over, and Blackfire is ... I am sorry, but there is something we must discuss."

"Starfire, listen. Oracle just had her baby."

Starfire's face lit up with joy, but she tried to remain stern. "She did! I mean, good to hear. Boy or girl?"

"Star, look, there's something about her baby you really need to know."


	41. Welcome, New Princess

Without warning, Oracle suddenly raised her own legs and kicked Cheshire in the stomach hard enough to send her spinning through the air. After getting back on her feet, she looked up to see Oracle rushing at her, carrying her wheelchair like a sledgehammer. Oracle bashed her wheelchair against Cheshire, breaking it into a dozen pieces, and knocking Cheshire back again. Once again, the assassin got back up to attack, but her claws were stopped by batarangs wielded by Oracle, now standing toe-to-toe with her.

"How are you doing this?" Cheshire demanded. "You're a cripple!"

Oracle moved her face closer and answered with an angry smile, "See the baby I'm carrying? Not mine!"

Then there was a flash of blue light, and Robin (still dressed as Nightwing) jumped out and assaulted Cheshire. As the two fought, Oracle rushed back to the main computer, hoping to get at least an approximate location.

While fighting Cheshire, Robin noticed a bizarre headband around the back of her neck that looked suspiciously like the ones made by Mad Hatter. Using a birdarang, he snapped it off, and then Adonis and Johnny Rancid both stopped their fighting. Adonis was about to ask where he was when Cyborg punched him in the stomach without warning, sending him through several servers. One of them started to fall on Robin, forcing him to jump out of the way. This gave Cheshire the perfect opportunity to rush towards Oracle.

Still focused on the dying supercomputer, Oracle barely turned around in time to see Cheshire, who knocked her to the ground by kicking her in the pregnant belly. Cheshire went to attack with her claws, but her wrist was grabbed by Johnny Rancid who then threw her to the ground and kept her pinned while Adonis stapled her to the floor.

"Traitors!" shouted Cheshire. "We're supposed to be against the Titans!"

"Hey, nobody said anything about attacking a pregnant lady," said Johnny sternly. "Deal's off!"

"No!" screamed Oracle, staring at the massive screen reading "System Failure" while struggling to stand with her hand over her expecting baby. "Our only chance, and it's gone!"

"1982 Perezville Lot #8," said Adonis, as he and Johnny put their hands up in the presence of the incoming armed guards led by Commissioner Slack. "You're looking for the rest of us, right? We're in the biggest warehouse in the lot, with eight side doors on the north side."

"Traitor!" shouted Cheshire.

"You heard Johnny! Deal's off!"

"Oh, my god! Oracle!" shouted Robin, picking up Babs in his arms. Seeing her trying desperately to hold back labor pains was one thing, but he was not expecting to see sharp, bloody shards poking out from her belly.

"Crap, she's gone into labor!" shouted Dr. Stone. "And the egg shell has cracked. We have to get her into the hospital now, Commissioner!"

"Doctor, there's no-one on staff who can deliver…"

"Never mind a delivery! A normal birth will tear apart her abdomen! Son, get up here and do a c-section!"

"What, I can do that?" asked Cyborg.

"Yes, I programmed you to perform all major surgeries."

As they made their way to the medical wing, Robin wanted to ask Oracle exactly what all the hysteria regarding her baby had meant. The baby wasn't hers, and yet it had an egg shell. Then he remembered that Tamaraneans laid eggs…

No, it couldn't be. Could it? But how?

While setting Oracle up on a hospital bed, Dr. Stone made a comment about how his work at Cadmus was so much easier. Then he remembered about Cyborg rescuing Cadmus from Slade, and Oracle was among them...

Then in his mind, Robin could see Slade justifying his actions over this operation:

"The child with his true love that Robin could never have. What a perfect choice for my new apprentice!"

Robin turned to look down at Oracle in shock, who surprisingly managed to deliver a smile back at him.

"Figure it out, detective?"

"That's my … and Star's … that's what Slade did to you!"

"Yes, but only because I toyed with his plans and forced him to."

"You did what?"

"Slade's plan was originally going to grow the hybrid within a life-supporting vat," explained Dr. Stone. "But she sabotaged Slade's plan for a vat and instead offered herself to grow the hybrid creation. Once we had created one that could fully develop, then she sent the alert for our rescue."

"But ... why?"

Oracle grabbed his hand and yanked him down to look at him face-to-face. "Because I love you, you stupid idiot! I thought I was over you, but I'm not! The more I tried to forget you, the more I realized I was still in love with you! Then, when I heard about you and Starfire, I was happy for you, but I soon realized that you could break her heart just like you did mine!"

"But Babs, we were both young and stupid when we were together. Now, I'm wiser and more mature! It'll be different with us!"

"Really? Then answer me this: can you name me one thing you've said, one thing you've felt, one thing you've thought, one thing you've promised for her, that you never did for me?"

"Yes, plenty. We rushed our relationship, but Star and I took our time..."

"LIAR! You may be old enough to vote, but you're still the same as you were then! But I love you too much to let you make the same mistake that you did with me! I won't let you break your own heart again! And no matter, I will die before I let you turn out just like Bruce!

"This is the only way – to bring a child into the world that only you and her could raise. It's a lifelong commitment you would have to make, and you would have to stay together, and you could have what I never could … and what Bruce never could."

"So, wait, how are your legs working again?" asked Cyborg.

"During pregnancy, stem cells from the developing child will transfer into the mother's bloodstream, and if the mother is injured, the stem cells can be used in tissue repair," explained Dr. Stone. "Here, the half-alien child sent stem cells to repair Dr. Gordon's spine, allowing her to walk again."

Oracle shrieked in pain as Dr. Stone administered an anesthetic, while Dr. Stone continued to help Cyborg prepare himself to perform the C-Section

Robin could do nothing but stare in shock at Oracle, deeply disturbed by the lengths she went to in order to enact her will. This was the same problem she had back when they were both sidekicks in Gotham, but now it had gotten so much worse.

"OK, I'm ready to go!" shouted Cyborg, surgical equipment coming out of his robotic wrists while staring at Oracle's bloody, pregnant belly and open legs. "I am … going to faint! No wait, I am regaining confidence! Let's do this thing!"

/

Within seconds of closing her communicator, Starfire had opened a portal with her Star Sapphire ring - one that would take her to a true love - from the New Tamaran colony to a window outside of the Jump City PD medical wing. She flung open the window and saw Oracle lying on the hospital bed, attached to numerous monitors revealing that her vitals had stabilized. She began to move towards Oracle, but was stopped by Robin stretching out his hand in front of her chest.

"The surgery was a success," explained Robin. "Granted, the surgeon was an amateur, and her doctor doubted many times if she would make it. But she made it through, and her doctors say that she's expected to make a full recovery."

Starfire fell to her knees in happiness, thankful that her new friend was OK. But then she was paralyzed with joy when she heard the next wonderful sound – the sound of a newborn waking up from his or her first nap. Starfire turned and looked up to see Robin holding a seven-pound bundle wrapped in a blanket with symbols of Justice League members on it. Robin looked down and smiled back.

"It's a girl."

Robin squatted down and showed his wife their baby. Starfire gazed in awe at the impossible creation before her. Black hair like her father, completely green eyes like her mother, skin with a unique shade that was halfway between both her parents, and a belly button to show that she had been given life but someone who had deeply loved them all.

Starfire's hands trembled as she reached to her daughter, and slowly lifted her up to look at her as she began to stretch her arms and wake from her first slumber.

She slowly floated to the ceiling as her happiness escalated.

"Have you … picked a name?" she asked.

"Well, I was thinking of naming her after my mother – Mary."

Starfire's eyes finally began to cry.

"Yes, Mar'i. Mar'i-korand. My little Nightstar!"

Starfire held her daughter against her chest as she wept profusely, and was soon joined by her husband embracing his new family. Neither of them noticed a waking Oracle, who looked at the three and smiled in satisfaction.

 


	42. Princess of Peace

"Father, why did you program me to perform every surgery known to man, but not with any type of selective memory deletion?"

Dr. Stone couldn't think of a decent answer to give his son.

"Think of it this way, Victor. You just participated in the miracle of life!"

Miracle – that's what the world was calling the news of Nightstar's existence. No mention of Cyborg and Oracle bringing the child into the world. The official report was that the hybrid child was just found in a hospital room, and the biological parents were contacted when it was discovered that the child was a perfect genetic balance of their DNA.

Genetic experts were interviewed non-stop, and each of them agreed that this child's existence should not at all be scientifically possible. Nightstar most certainly could not have been conceived naturally, and anyone with the technology to create her most certainly would not have done so just to leave her for her parents to pick up. Besides, if they had wanted a child that badly, it would have been much cheaper and faster simply to adopt.

But where the scientific community had no answer, all religious communities across the world all provided one – the first time they had agreed on anything. The day of Nightstar's birth, the Pope made an address, as did the Presidents of every Protestant denomination, the Dalai Llama, and every leading rabbi, imam, and priest in the world. Furthermore, the High Priestess of X'Hal gave an address to the people of New Tamaran.

They all declared to have been visited by an archangel, who had appeared to each of them as a beautiful young woman dressed in glowing dark yellow robes that hid her face but showed off her thigs, and giant blue-purple wings of a raven. This archangel claimed to be a messenger of all gods from all religions, and had created this miracle child to make a statement:

That Earth and Tamaran had always meant to be together, as neighbors, allies, and friends. And now, through thousands of years of struggle, a new era for both had finally come. But that era that had long been planned out had been compromised, due to the hateful actions of individuals from both species. However, all had seen Starfire show love for her terrible sister despite all her evil, and now they were arguing if they too should forgive each other.

And so, the gods sent the child Nightstar to Earth – a child made from the parents of the greatest Tamaranean and the greatest Earthling. Her existence was meant to symbolize that, yes, humans and Tamaraneans should forgive each other, and co-exist together, and eventually, one day, become one with each other, just like Nightstar.

In an unrelated news story, Dick Grayson and Kory Anders were both found to be hostages taken by Intergang. After being released, young Mr. Grayson declared that he was going to accept an offer to work for a high-security job for Cyberwear, while Miss Anders was going into super-early retirement to marry Grayson and raise a family.

As for the Titans themselves, Michael Holt had their belongings taken from the ruins of Titans Tower and moved to a penthouse he owned in downtown Jump City. As Starfire placed Nightstar in her crib for the first time, she turned in response to a knock on the door.

"Someone sent you a … gift, in light of everything that you have had to endure," said Mr. Holt.

He wheeled in a metal create, upon which was stamped the logo for Kitten Larva Farms, featuring a young blonde female mascot whose image Starfire was unfortunately familiar with.

"As slimy as he was, Luthor is still responsible for foiling many villains. Most went to jail, but some found an honest living. Killer Moth managed to do so using his larva as pets, and press photos of you and Silkie served as an unofficial advertisement. Anyways, it's seems that they've sent a sorry-for-your-loss present."

Mr. Holt opened the crate, and Starfire looked inside to see a recently hatched larva, about half the size that Silkie was. His eyes squinted in the light, and then huddled in a corner out of fear. Starfire reached inside and picked him up while gently petting him, and the larva drew a smile as it quickly stopped shaking.

"I appreciate the thought," admitted Starfire, "but my Silkie cannot be replaced. Still, I know from watching the family sitcoms that you are not a replacement, but a brand new gromgorf. So, I welcome you into my life, my little … Silkie 2!"

Starfire and Mr. Holt left the bedroom to let Nightstar sleep, and in doing so she began making several baby noises that babies make when they dream. Silkie 2, having never heard these noises before, was rather curious about these, and popped his head out to see exactly where they were coming from. He crawled out of the crate, along the carpet, and up the crib to see Nightstar moving around in her sleep.

Silkie 2 continued to crawl into the crib and approached Nightstar, who grabbed his nose with her chubby baby hands. Silkie 2 felt a sudden warmth come over him, and smiled.

When Starfire returned to check on Nightstar, she was more than delighted to see her daughter and her new pet sleeping side-by-side.

/

Michael Holt completed his final session with Red X, verifying that he was mentally sound even after the abuse Blackfire had subjugated him to.

"Now, that we have that taken care of, do you finally know why you infiltrated Intergang?"

"Well, I guess it's because … I had grown sick of being selfish."

"Really? How so?"

"Going in between foster homes, I had really always only looked after myself. I stole whatever I wanted because I wanted it, and stealing the Xenothium just made it easier. But during my time with Robin, there was something about his selflessness that I found inspiring, and I ultimately began questioning what I was doing with my life.

"I wanted to be like Robin, like the Titans, and risk my life for something greater than myself. So, when I learned of the scheme that Control Freak was putting on, I volunteered for the sake of sabotage."

"And so, do you feel like a hero now?"

"No. I'm no hero, and I'm no villain, either. I'm just ready to be a normal, regular guy."

"Well, I think you're ready for that, and I think that Youngberg State College is a perfect place to start."

"Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, Jason. By the way, if you meet a student named Tara Markov, you should get to know her. You two have a lot in common."


	43. Confess to Your Goddess

Still woozy from the surgery had performed, Cyborg did not feel in the best of spirits when it came to be setting up their new apartments. Thus, while Robin and Starfire were busy organizing Nightwing's new home, they were kind enough to let Cyborg cradle the baby that he had delivered while he sat outside the apartment reserved for him and Beast Boy (who had quickly recovered from his near mental breakdown).

Raven had been given her own smaller, more private apartment. When Robin and Starfire went inside to bring in her belongings, they were both shocked to find Raven meditating in the middle of the living room.

"How many times have I asked you not to come into my room?"

Starfire happily rushed to embrace her seemingly-disappeared friend, who had no qualms about hugging her back with a small smile on her face.

"Friend Raven, where did you go? I thought that you and the Spectre had exploded!"

"Yes, well, you know how my father was basically the God of Evil? Well, that means I can become a god, and I had to to get him out of me."

"So, you are … a goddess now?"

"Yes. That's precisely what I am now."

"So, that speech that all the religious leaders made – you were the archangel?" deduced Robin.

"That I was. I couldn't let the truth of your child's birth be public knowledge, and I couldn't let your peoples be separated. So, I made a vision to everyone who claims to speak to God."

"So, then, you lied?" asked Starfire.

"Yes, but it's a small price to pay. If there's one thing we've all learned, it's that sometimes you must do what is considered wrong to do what's right. Killing is wrong, yet if Wonder Girl and Beast Boy hadn't killed Scarecrow, I don't think any of us would be here. If that can be used only as a last resort for the cause of good, then surely the same can be said about my lie."

"I guess so," responded Starfire. "But now you are back, and just in time to celebrate Nightstar's baby shower! Yes, that is traditionally held before the baby, but…"

"Actually, I came to say good-bye."

"What?" responded the couple in shock.

"As a goddess, I'm way too overpowered to be a hero now. I have, I guess you could say, ascended to a higher plane of existence. I have recently become aware of a great eternal supernatural conflict across this dimension, and I have a chance to balance it out in favor of good. That is where I am needed, and that's where I am going."

Starfire hugged her friend again, this time crying tears of sorrow. Raven hugged her back, starting to cry herself.

"Don't worry. I promise I'll come back to visit often."

"Well, if you're gonna so good-bye to everyone, at least stick around for the baby shower," advised Robin.

"I'd love to, but there are three small kids that I also need to check up on. And, there's also something else I need to do."

/

Beast Boy was still uneasy from what he had done, and thus was slowly unpacking his old belongings, making sure to brush off the leftover debris, when he came across that didn't belong to him – the giant chicken that he had for her at the fair. He stopped to look at it, he put it in its own special place beside his bed before going back to unpack his own things.

"I guess I still am the luckiest girl in the world," said her voice. Beast Boy turned around to see Raven standing in front of the giant chicken.

"Raven!" he shouted, rushing to go hug her. But instead, she made herself transparent, fell to the ground, and landed upside-down against the wall.

"I should have turned out just like my father," she continued, "but thankfully, I had friends who steered me off that path. Robin was probably the most influential, and it only makes sense since my mind was linked to his mentor, I furthered that connection with him, and he always looking out for me like a true leader."

Raven then used her powers to set Beast Boy to stand up straight and spoke directly to him.

"Your mind is still broken. Do you mind if I fix it?"

"Uh ... sure."

Raven placed her chakra on Beast Boy's forehead and the two closed their eyes. As Raven's psychic powers did their repair work, she continued to speak with him telepathically.

"So, what do you have to be so different towards me?" she asked.

"What?"

"You approached me after I revealed my true form even when everyone else kept their distance. You kept trying to make me laugh even when everyone else said it was hopeless. You were there to comfort me after my heart had been broken. When your body and mind were going unstable, you still protected me and couldn't tolerate the idea that you could hurt me. You tried to give me confidence in the form of a penny when I was to end the world. You've tried to get closer to me than anyone else. Why is that?"

"Well, it's kinda because you're the coolest person I've ever known."

"Say what now?"

"Raven, in case you haven't notice, you're freaking awesome! You're half-DEMON for Pete's sake! The way you turn into a red-eyed monster and dragged Dr. Light underneath your cloak, and how you summon dark magic to blast away robots, you're basically all the greatest comic books brought to life!"

"Is that what I am to you? Just a breathing incarnation of your childish fantasies? That's why I'm so special that you would try to get so close to me? Is that what makes me worth risking your life, taking a life, risking your sanity?"

"No, of course not! Raven, you're my friend..."

"Am I just another friend? Am I something greater, likethe sister you never had? Or am I … have you … fallen for me?"

"Raven, in my mind, you're the prettiest smartest, strongest, and every other positive superlative adjective being to over exist. How could anyone not fall for you? Or better yet, how could a goddess like you fall for a pathetic loser like me?"

And then they both opened their eyes and jumped back from each other.

Raven stood wide-eyed and perplexed, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Beast Boy had a similar reaction, as we was trying to figure out if he was more shocked that he had just made a love confession or that for once something was incredibly obvious to him alone. Well, Raven soon realized just how obvious that something was, and she couldn't help but smile.

A smile Raven did. A smile that was soon followed by uproarious knee-slapping laughter. And along with the laughter, came black and yellow streams of magic from underneath Raven's cloak, that began to sprout flowers, vines, small trees, insects, and small animals, all of which had the appearance of something that had been conceived by Lovecraft but then polished off by Dr. Seuss.

"Uh, Raven, you know you've got a rain-forest coming out of your butt, right?" asked Beast Boy, in a rather concerned voice. "I really think you should get that checked, as well as that continuing laughter of yours, it's a bit creepy right now. Yeah, Raven, you definitely need to get this looked at."

Raven continued to laugh as she grabbed Beast Boy's shoulder to lift herself off the ground. Then she shut both off them up by wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging his waist with her legs, and kissing him so hard that both their clothes evaporated.

/

Cyborg was busy ogling at the napping Nightstar in his arms when he noticed purple-and-gold vines crawling out from the door behind him. He got up and opened the apartment door to find that it had been converted to a miniature rainforest, complete with a pond where the dining table was, except that nothing seemed to have the proper coloring scheme. In fact, it all looked to have much darker shades than that of an actual rainforest.

"Beast Boy!" Cyborg whispered loudly to not wake the baby.

"Yeah, over here," he responded in a very tired voice.

Cyborg followed the voice to his bedroom, now covered in lush dark-colored vegetation, where Beast Boy was sitting up topless and looked as tired as someone who had just finished a marathon.

"Beast Boy, why is our apartment a jungle?"

"Oh, well, Raven is a god now, like her father, but the opposite of her father," he explained sleepily. "So, while he destroyed life, she can create it, and she loses control when she reaches a state of supreme joy."

"Uh, I'm sorry, what?"

"Is someone there?" asked an equally tired Raven, raising her naked arm up.

"Yeah, sweetie, Cyborg!" Beast Boy responded, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Cyborg? OK, tell him that his apartment is now the entrance to a new dimension, OK?"

"Sure. You got that, CY?"

Cyborg couldn't respond. He had walked back outside the apartment, eyes wide-opened and his lips in a stretched-out o-shape. So as not to wake the baby, he turned on his mute button before so that the marching band music that played in his head couldn't make it out the speakers.

Beast Boy lied his head on his pillow taking several large breaths to recover from the strenuous carnal activities he had just performed. He turned to look at his new angelic lover, who was almost asleep from the wild ride he had given her. He woke her up with a kiss on the cheek and whispered into her ear, "I love you!".

Raven smiled.

Beast Boy covered up that smile with his lips, and soon he was on top of her again, eyes closed and smooching her like a lover. He opened his eyes to see the blonde-haired, blue-eyed face of Terra happily staring back at him.

Beast Boy shrieked in terror, leaped backwards, and fell of the bed, smashing a wall of shelves stocked with his favorite collectors' edition action figures. As the expensive toys collapsed on him, Raven reverted to her natural appearance as she leaned forward and stretched out her formerly virgin body.

"Thanks for making me smile, Gar-Bae!"

"No problem, Rae-Bae!" responded her lover, giving a thumbs up from underneath the pile.


	44. Love Triangle

Queen Starfire of the Violet Lanterns was given a warm welcome onto Stryker's Island. She was led down into most secure area of the prison, where massive double doors opened to reveal her brother Wildifre, now bound by xenothium straps behind a force field. He gave no reaction as he turned to look at his sister for whom he'd caused so much destruction.

"What do you want?" He asked bitterly.

"The war you started is over, brother. Now we can finally talk."

"I didn't start this war. They did when they invited us in and let that freak kill you!"

"And that is when your hate took over, because you love me, because I am family, right? Do you know how many people have lost family because of your hate?"

"Did you come here to try to make me feel guilty?"

"No, I came here to introduce you to your niece".

Wildifre showed a look of astonishment as Starfire flew up to him and revealed the sleeping baby girl she had been cradling in her arms. "A gift of peace from the goddess X'Hal herself. Half of me, and half of Robin. Joining us, and joining our worlds. Mar'I-korand. Nightstar."

Wildifre soon went back to being stoic. "That … is disgusting."

"On that we are agreed." Starfire looked down to see the cell's other occupant – a disgraced Lex Luthor, still managing to enjoy five-star dining and luxury. "Our species can never advance if we give away our seed to those who could enslave us."

"Both our species will no longer hear your lies," declared Starfire, "for you have shown what a pitiful, selfish bully you are, and that is all you are. The humans will advance without you, and they will do it with New Tamaran by their side."

As Starfire left, she turned to face her brother once more.

"And we can do that because we love each other; because we have forgiven each other. The humans have forgiven Tamaran because Tamaran realizes the evil they have done. And I can forgive you, brother, if you simply realize your evil, like Blackfire did."

"You forgave Blackfire?" Wildifre asked scoffingly.

"Yes. My new Lantern powers replaced her lost ring, and her body was overtaken by the power of love. She realized just how terrible she had always been, and begged for death to end the pain. But I forgave her, and after one moment of finally being normal, she faded away. I don't want you to fade away either, brother. I want to forgive you. You too, Mr. Luthor."

After leaving, Luthor turned his newspaper to a story about his company being dissolved.

He smiled.

"They'll never find it".

/

It had been nearly three weeks since Oracle had undergone a C-section. She had spent most of that time in her Jump City hospital bed, where she had begrudgingly watched the funeral of her former best friend, Supergirl.

Ever since she found out Supergirl had gotten killed defending LexCorp Tower from the Tamaraneans, Oracle finally realized that she was wrong to have ever driven her away. After her one bad day, she truly thought she was giving the rogues of Metropolis one less possible pawn to use. But it was all for nothing. They should have stayed best friends. Supergirl had tried to fill the void in her heart with promiscuity, while she had turned to overworked internships, but neither worked.  They were truly meant to be best friends forever.

But by now, she was finally strong enough to walk. Oracle came by and helped her out, taking baby steps across the hospital room floor until Oracle could walk fairly well again on her own. Once she was sure of herself, she stared at her reflection, rubbing her hand across the surgical scar Cyborg had made across her abdomen. She also rubbed her thumbs over the wounds on her wrists left by Cheshire.

"I think you look fine," commented Oracle. "Most warriors would brag about scars like those."

"And how are you dealing with … rehab?"

"Oh, it's fine. My dad's a big help, and Mr. Holt is superb at it."

"And what about Beast Boy? Isn't he doing rehab too?"

"Yeah, but I think he's OK, since Raven fixed his mind and in doing so they discovered they were mutually in love. Then they had sex, and the emotional intensity caused Raven's full divinity to be unleashed, turning their apartment into the portal of a new dimension."

"Uh … what?"

"That's exactly what I said."

"O...K...then, how's Cyborg?"

“I’m right here!”  The two turned to see the door open, and as Barb was only wearing a sports bra and bike shorts, she quickly got on a bathrobe, then turned to see Cyborg enter and gently push inside her old wheelchair, all nicely put back together.

“Ellen!” Oracle shouted, having named it after her late mother.  She rushed over, picked it up, and hugged it with a newfound super-strength.  “Thank you so much, Victor!”

“Don’t mention it.  It’s the least you deserve.”

Barb slowly set down Ellen when she hard a knock on the door, followed by Robin's voice. As she put Ellen into a corner, Oracle let him in and she and Cyborg bid both of them goodbye.

"I watched Supergirl's funeral yesterday," started Oracle. "She wise to pick you as her successor."

"Thanks."

"Nightwing – Champion of Earth! Her computer bracelet looks good on you!"

"Thanks."

Oracle sighed and cross her arms, staring back at Robin with the same, cold, blank stare. "Well, you got something to say to me, say it."

And Robin did so. "You selfish, controlling bitch."

Oracle's face quickly turned as red as her hair. She tried slapping him across the face, but he didn't budge as he caught her hand by the scarred wrist. "Oh, so that's how you address the woman who nearly died bringing your kid into the world!"

"Forcing a couple to stay together by throwing a baby at them is not something a good person should be bragging about!"

"Are you kidding me? This is the most selfless thing I have ever done in my life!"

"There's nothing selfless about forcing people to accept what you think is best for them!"

"Oh, and you're to talk! You were planning on continuing the hero stich after your marriage, leaving Starfire to work her ass off leading her people while you have fun time as the new Dick Tracy! Yeah, you may care a whole lot, but you're more devoted to your convictions than your friends. Once the rules have been set, you refuse to budge no matter how they might hurt the ones you love! You're just like Bruce!"

"Oh, I'm like Bruce! Take a look in the mirror. You follow the rules until it stops you from getting what you want. And when you want something, you have no qualms about manipulating the ones you've sworn to protect. You claim to act for the greater good, but you get to decide what that is. That's what Bruce is, and he's you!"

They both calmed down as they both realized that this was the exact conversation that them to broke up, and made Robin leave Gotham for good. Since then, neither of them had changed much.

“And I guess that explains all the puppet work you’ve been doing as Oracle,” Robin continued.  “Yeah, you’re not the only one who can code.  I know the only reason LexCorp turned humanitarian is because you threatened to expose his sabotage of Atlantean goods.”

“And I got us all one less supervillain to worry about!”

“I’m sure Supergirl would disagree.”

“Don’t you dare try to lay that on me!  That was one of many projects he was working on before I interned for him!”

“And when you ‘interned’ for Slade, you let him get away!”

“It wasn’t my fault.”

“You could have had my whole team come for the rescue, and with the back-up in Dakota City we might have actually caught him, but you made sure that only Cyborg came.  You wanted him to escape.”

“I had to.  He would’ve ruined everything!”

“EXACTLY!!!  Now because you had to make ME happy YOUR way, that demented, power-hungry maniac is still at large!  And now he is going to give someone one bad day … and when that day comes, are you willing to take responsibility?”

Oracle had nothing to say in response.  She just grasped onto Ellen’s handles, her wrists shaking as she couldn’t admit to her stupid mistake.

Then a bright violet portal opened up, and threw it stepped Queen Starfire, nursing the baby Nightstar through her left breast. She just ended singing a Tamaranean lullaby when she looked up at the two responsible for her bundle of joy.

"How are my loves?"

"Oh, he's just doing fine," responded a defeated Oracle trying to sound snarky. "We were just in the middle of a little talk about ethics."

Having enough of talking with Barb, Robin quickly glanced at his new wrist-communicator and made up something about Professor Chang starting a prison riot.

But he did stop at the door before leaving. "But still, thank you, Babs. I honestly have never been happier, and I wouldn't change anything." Without looking back, Robin shut the door on his way out.

"So, how can I help your majesty?" asked Oracle.

"Well, I wanted to know if you could help me feed little Mary here."

Oracle looked very confused. "What?"

"Well, I was just thinking that because Mary is half-human, she needs both Tamaran milk and human milk to have the best health. I thought that maybe you would like to help out, but if you don't I can always just..."

"I'll do it!" Oracle proclaimed, feeling a strong attraction to the child she had grown inside her.

"OK, then, sit down."

Oracle sat on her bed and began to unfasten her robe as Starfire sat down beside her. As Oracle's robe fell onto the bed-sheets, Starfire slowly removed her baby from off her breast while covering up her nipple with her lantern bra cup. Nightstar cried in protest as Starfire handed her over to Oracle, who could only stare perplexed at the beautiful hybrid baby. "She looks just like you … and Robin."

"Thanks. Do you need help?"

"Well, this is my first time, it'd be nice if I could get my bra off."

Oracle then felt her bra strap snap off, followed by the bra straps being gently pulled off her shoulders before allowed to fall down. Oracle turned to look at Starfire, who had done this with her Lantern Ring and without looking. "I won't look if you're not comfortable," she promised. "Now just bring her mouth up to your titty and let her suck."

Oracle obeyed, and was soon nursing for the first time. After throwing her hair over her shoulder to cover her other nipple, Oracle allowed Starfire to look. The young queen scooched in closer and assisted Oracle in holding up her baby.

"Thank you, Oracle. This is the greatest thing anyone has ever done."

"There's no need to thank me. I just wanted the two of you to be happy … whoa, a bit of a bite there! She suckles just like her dad!"

Both ladies stared at each other awkwardly. They also both realized how sexy each other's bodies were.

"I didn't mean that! What I meant was that, uh, you're hot! No, wait, I mean … oh look, she's done. Here you go!" Oracle quickly handed back over Nightstar before quickly putting her clothes back on.

"Oracle, do you know what you will be doing now?"

"Well, Mr. Holt is taking over some of what's left of LexCorp, so I'm sure he wants me to go over all the leftover data."

"Ah, so has not told you about coming to work on New Tamaran."

"Wait, what?"

"You see, the refugees have successfully settled up our colony, but we need to terraform the Moon so that we may have enough food to feed us. Since we're an emotional race, we haven't learned any science since we overthrew the Psions. Mr. Holt has started working on terraforming machines, and he has Cyborg and his father started on the task. I am certain that you would love to work on that project."

"Yes, maybe I could, but I'm sure I can do all the work down her on Earth."

"But I'm sure that I love you."

"Well, I wouldn't say we've been friends long enough to say that, but..."

"No, not as friends. I love you the same way I love Robin."

Oracle slowly scooched away, now more confused than ever. "What?"

"Let me show you." Starfire's Lantern Ring glowed and showed a thick beam of violet energy stretching from Starfire's chest out the door. A small portal opened, showing that Robin really was handling a prison riot led by Professor Chang.

"One thing my ring can do is that it shows who is another's true love," explained Starfire. "The true love between Robin and I is one of the strongest that could ever be, but can you see the other love coming from him?"

Oracle did notice it – a much smaller violet energy beam stretching from Robin and leading straight to her own chest. "You and Robin are still meant for each other. Even if you are right now less than good friends, you still both wish that you could be together."

Oracle was astonished by this revelation, but even more so when she realized another smaller beam of violet energy connecting her chest with that of Starfire's uniting the three in a love triangle.

"Yes, us too. Everything that made me fall for Robin, that is all in you, and I love you for it. While you may see me a pretty body to hang pictures on your wall and touch yourself to be happy..."

"I don't do that, I swear!"

"But I want more than that from you. I want all three of these beams to be as thick as the ones Robin and I share. And so, I'd like to invite you to come to New Tamaran, not only as Official Royal Scientist, but as k'norfka."

"Uh, what was that second one?"

"K'norfka- much like the one I called Galfore. In addition to educating my people in the matters of science, you will also help in the raising of my little Mar'i when Robin and I are too busy."

"And you really think I'm cut out for that?"

"Yes, friend Barb. I wish for you to be there beside me and Robin as we make my people's home flourish, build the peace between our worlds, and raise little Mar'i to be the proud child of Earth and Tamaran."

"This is a nice offer, but … I'm looking for something more normal..."

Starfire removed the love triangle and her ring stopped glowing. "Forget what is normal. All that matters is if we are happy. I know that you have not been happy for a long time, and I want to help you the way me and my friends helped Robin."

"What do you mean?"

"When we Titans first started off, Robin was very much like the Bruce-Bat. He was gritty, broody, shouting a lot, always had to be right, and not very trusting. But the more he was with us, the more he became less of those things and more hopeful and more smiley."

"And you think I'm broody and shouty, but you can make me all better?"

"No, I think that you do not spend enough time with your friends, and when you do it is only to control them. But if you give me and Robin and New Tamaran a chance, we can help you give up your need to be in control."

"Um, well … I don't know what to say."

"For now, that is fine. Take the time to search your heart, and if there's trouble, you know who to call."

Starfire opened up a violet portal behind her and stepped backwards into it.

 


	45. Epilogue

Five Years Later

After the trial, LexCorp was completely dissolved with all locations, facilities, patents, and assets were sold off to Wayne Enterprises, Queen Industries, CyberTech, and other companies. However, there were some facilities that were so top secret that they were left abandoned. In one such facility, a hibernation chamber opened, and its occupant slowly got out. After putting on a metallic mask concealing his face save for his left eye, he sat down in front of a computer screen and turned it on.

He did a news search for his old adversaries – the Titans – and was rather disappointed at the tremendous good they had managed to accomplish.

Supergirl's memorial statue stood tall in honor of those who had fallen at LexCorp tower.

New Tamaran was not only thriving, but helping humanity enter a new age of scientific achievement, under the leadership of Queen Starfire of the Violet Lanterns.

Dr. Silas Stone received a promotion at Cyberwear, overseeing all the projects that had been acquired from LexCorp.  His son Cyborg was in charge of relations between the company and New Tamaran,  This put him into regular direct contact with Oracle, with whom he had continued to forge a strong friendship with.

Robin, or rather Nightwing as he was called now, was the new Champion of Earth, and a happy family man with a lovely daughter Mar'i and her two beautiful mothers - Queen Starfire and Consort Oracle.

In a move that surprised everyone, Bumblebee announced her engagement to Aqualad, and went with him to Atlantis to begin preparing for her role as future queen.  Soon after, they married, and had a baby girl, Tula.  Wonder Girl replaced her role as leader of the Titans East, and soon after married Speedy.  They currently have a daughter named Lian and a son named Robert.

Cyborg would occasionally get off time to be a Titan in Jump city again, where Kid Flash and Jinx filled up the rest of the team.  However, they had also married, and had a baby girl, Iris.  But seeing as how crime was going down worldwide, neither they nor the Titans East had any big problems with balancing out superheroics with child-raising.

Beast Boy and Raven's vigorous first-time love making had ripped a small fabric in space-time creating a new dimension with a central planet whose main sentient race was crafted in the image of both – green skin, shapeshifting powers, telepathy, levitation; bizarrely similar to the Martians extinct in our dimension. The two of them left to oversee their creation, in a way possibly similar to how the gods of ancient myth may have created our world.

But worse of all, his plan of ultimate revenge against Robin had instead turned into the greatest thing that had ever happened for both him and the world.

"This must be so discouraging, isn't it?" He looked around, but saw no-one; only shadows.

"I mean, with the League gone, you saw this as your chance to prove yourself to the world. But to do that, you needed to upset the established sense of justice. What better way to get what you want then to corrupt the protégé of the world's pinnacle of justice?

"But that didn't work out, and neither did the other kids. So, you spent well over a year and a half stealing and kidnapping from the government to create the perfect disciple who was also the ultimate insult to your young archnemesis. Too bad that failed as well.

"But, thankfully, you handed all your tools over to LexCorp. And wisely, you sought out those who truly believed in the teachings of its prophet. Now LexCorp is gone, along with the Brotherhood of Evil, the Royal Flush Gang, Kobra, and even Vandal Savage. But the League of Shadows is still here.

"But no, I'm not my grandfather. I've taken over since killing my mom. You can call me Damian. You may also want to consider offering me your services. I've already prepared something to offer in exchange."

The figure turned in response to a light turning on behind him, He saw a cylindrical tube open to reveal a massive vial holding what appeared to be a small child. Curious, he stood up and walked over it to get a better look. Sure enough, the vial contained a child in stasis, a male child who was just about to see his fifth birthday.

"That's no regular baby," continued Damian's voice. "That child was created using the technology you supplied from your failed Cadmus experiment. What you're looking at is a perfect combination of DNA from the two Champions of Earth. Half-Robin, half-Supergirl, and all yours.

"Personally, I call him Superboy, but I'm sure you'll be calling him … Apprentice."

Beneath his mask, Slade smiled for the first time in ages.


End file.
